The Monster Within
by icanfly0
Summary: "When I died I was very young, just as you, and so I desperately wanted to live a full life even if it was not the one I had originally imagined..." Pre-series epic. (This story features an OC of my own creation).
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story is an epic- meaning that it spans across time and contains a general theme of good and evil. The rating is subject to change. Please give as much feedback as possible! There is no way for me to know if the direction of this story is proper without hearing from my wonderful readers :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to True Blood. All rights and attributes belong to Alan Ball and HBO.**

* * *

-_The Kingdom of Valeirie- __Northern Italy, 1151 AD_-

"You are the most stubborn girl I have ever known, Aurelia". Petrona chided her younger sister as she attempted to work a brush through the girl's mass of shiny brown hair. Out of all six of the Marius children, Aurelia was the only one who possessed the long, wavy locks of their mother. The other five were given the wiry, colorless hair of their father, the current commander of the army in their kingdom. Titinus was fearless, sometimes even ruthless, and he treated his children and their mother as if they were soldiers in his well-run army. Aurelia had never been interested in her father's status. Yet, she still respected him and his prestige. Captain of an army meant everything for the sake of their family. It meant that Cassia, the eldest, was able to marry a wealthy man. It meant that Aurelia's three brothers, Domitius, Blaise, and Sergius could valiantly serve their kingdom and fight against those who threatened it. It meant that one day, Aurelia would follow in the same footsteps as her sister and their beautiful mother.

"Ouch," Aurelia yelled out as she reflexively grabbed at the top of her head.

"Oh, stop whining," Petrona batted the youngest's hand away playfully and continued to detangle the strands. Petrona was Aurelia's favorite sibling. They were only four years apart, but their lives were very different. Petrona would never bear children, and in this way she was seen as unfit material for a wife. They had found out very recently that Petrona was ill with infertility, and would bear no such honor in gracing a man with a son. Aurelia envied her in a selfish way; if it were her who could not bear children, then she would not be in this predicament.

A few weeks prior, the ruler of their kingdom paid a visit to Titinus' castle to inquire about a young wife for his only son, the Prince and the heir to the throne. Aurelia was the only remaining girl in the Marius family who would make due. Cassia was already married with a second child on the way, and Petrona would be of no use to what the King was truly seeking; lineage. Aurelia saw this as a death sentence, the end of life as she knew it. At just sixteen years-old, she had no jurisdiction over her own decisions; present or future. She was the daughter of a powerful man, and a beautiful daughter at that.

Out of all the surrounding kingdoms, *Valeirie was not significantly large, but the king was known to be as ruthless as any ruler could be. Aurelia did not want him as a father.

The night she realized she had been pawned off as the young bride-to-be to the crowned family, she wanted to scream, hit someone, run far away. Anything to ease the misery of this reality. Her mother would be no source of sympathy; she was bound to the word of her superior husband. She barely mustered a look of pity at her youngest as she sat across from her at the large wooden table, and watched as the girl's face contorted with a storm of emotions.

Petrona tried to be optimistic for her sister, "you have to be brave, child," she instructed.

"I don't want to be brave," Aurelia sobbed into the fabric of her dress.

"Think of what Prince Evander will grant you!" Petrona stroked Aurelia's long hair soothingly.

"I don't care!" Aurelia shouted.

Petrona contemplated her younger sister's distraught state, sighing for the countless time.

"Aurelia, I wish you understood how _lucky_ you really are," she murmured. At this, Aurelia lifted her sodden face up from the shield of her arms and gave her sister a curious stare, wanting her to continue. Petrona sighed once more, "you will be taken care of for the rest of your life by a man who adores you, who wants to give you a good life". Petrona stared straight ahead of her, letting her own thoughts take her someplace else, "and in return you will give him beautiful, strong children...you will be a princess, loved by everyone in your kingdom". Petrona trailed off, and Aurelia contemplated her distant gaze. She knew Petrona wished to be a wife and a mother, and Aurelia knew she was selfish to wish away her own good fortunes. It was true that Prince Evander would take care of her, as far as the 'adoring her' part went- Aurelia was yet to meet a man who could stand her, let alone adore her. She did not want to dash her sister's, her only friend's, hopes. So she kept quiet for once.

Preparations were already in order for the wedding ceremony. In less than a month's time, Aurelia would be a married woman. Because of this, the entire castle was busy as ever. Aurelia did not recall Cassia's wedding being this big of a fuss. For the most part, she stayed out of the preparations. None of it was any of her decision; how the proceeding would go, what she would wear, how she would act. She hated that it was out of her control. Her mother fretted constantly; she had to make certain that Prince Evander was getting what he was bidding for.

The night of the announcement had arrived. The king would reveal to his kingdom the arrangements for the marriage between his son and Lord Titinus' youngest daughter. Her mother's handmaidens had dressed Aurelia in the finest silk gown, complete with an intricate high collar made of gold. Aurelia let her hands sway lazily over the deep blue of the fabric, watching it almost shimmer in the dim candle light. She could appreciate her reflection, but she could not find the same appreciation for whom the sight was meant for.

As the handmaidens led Aurelia through the long corridor that led to the great courtyard, she felt as a lamb being led to slaughter might. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her palms felt sweaty. Aurelia felt her legs instinctively move a few paces backwards, until she bumped into the ladies behind her. The two young women, not much older than Aurelia herself, grabbed her arms gently yet forcefully and led her the rest of the way through the corridor. A large stage-like structure had been erected in the large courtyard where Lord Titinus Marius and the King sat in the middle of a long row of people. Closest to Aurelia were her siblings, seated in the order of their birth. On the other side of the king's wife, Aurelia could make out the top of the blonde head of the prince. She noticed that the chair closest was empty- for her. Feeling a slight nudge from the girl behind her, Aurelia stepped into view like a baby deer on wobbly legs. As she emerged, Aurelia could vaguely hear the shouts from the rather large crowd, but her hearing felt as though she were walking through a tunnel. Luckily, her unstable legs made it to the empty chair, and Aurelia eased herself down slowly next to Petrona. Her sister immediately took her hand for a brief moment, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Aurelia responded with a wide-eyed glance, still feeling very much like the soon-to-be slaughtered lamb. The King began to speak; Aurelia could feel the tremor of his booming voice, but she kept her eyes locked on an empty space in front of her. _Try to calm down_. She could practically hear Petrona reminding her. Aurelia tried resting her clammy hands on the arms of her chair, squeezing much too tightly. As the king continued his dramatic speech, Aurelia tried her luck at taking deep, even breaths. _In, out, in, out, in..._

"Aurelia," she could hear her name through the thick walls of the imaginary tunnel.

"Aurelia, get up," someone hissed in her ear. Turning sharply, Aurelia came face to face with the glare of Petrona.

It seemed as if all eyes were on her, waiting for her to do something. Suddenly she realized the Prince was standing in front of his own chair, facing her direction. Aurelia's face grew red, not with embarrassment, but with anger. Quicker than she intended, the girl shot out of her seat sending it back several inches in the process. That elicited quite a response from the crowd. Aurelia could vaguely hear a man's voice shout, "this one's eager!" as she stalked closer to the center of the stage. That only enraged Aurelia more. Sometimes she did not know where her temper came from, but Aurelia was clever enough to get away with it most times. Soon enough, she was standing before her future husband. Prince Evander was by no means unattractive; he certainly got his looks from his mother, because in Aurelia's opinion his father resembled a disfigured, rotten vegetable. He was several inches taller than Aurelia, and more than several years older. She wondered why he hadn't been able to find a wife sooner. Preferably someone else. Anyone else.

Bravely, she let her deep blue eyes meet his gray ones. They were colorless and almost frightening, yet fierce and powerful However, Aurelia knew immediately that Prince Evander was as proud a man as they came. He looked at her like a new horse he had received for his birthday. This man had no more room for love in his heart for anyone but himself. Aurelia felt her face twist into a scowl, an expression she had become very practiced at. Prince Evander let his eyes wander freely over Aurelia's form, taking no chaste to the fact that her own father was sitting mere feet from where they stood. She supposed it did not matter now; Aurelia would no longer be looked at as a little girl in the eyes of her father, or anyone else from now on. After a few silent moments of Evander's obvious lust, the king stood to take Aurelia's hand unexpectedly. He allowed his cold eyes to probe into the girl's own before speaking louder than he needed to.

"This is the new face of the kingdom," he called out as he forcefully thrust Aurelia's hand into the prince's. Evander took it only too graciously. His touch already disgusted her. The lamb analogy was becoming all too real now as she began to feel even more hopeless. The people in the crowd were leering at her. None of them looked happy for the couple, and some of them looked like they wanted the pair to drop dead. Anyone on good terms with the king would appear just as evil as he to these people. Aurelia wanted to scream, to tell them that she did not want this; this was not her ideal ending. She felt trapped, not only by the prince's tight grip on her hand, but by the chanting and drunken hoots from the people in front of her. As she paid her price, Aurelia let a thought slip into her mind; her sister was wrong. Her people would not love her, the prince would not adore her, and she barely believed he would take care of her. That left her with two things: she would be a princess, a hated one, and she would bear children to a man whom she hated even more.

* * *

A rush of pure, wild adrenaline fed the being as he ran like a blur through the dark landscape. It was a feeling only a very powerful vampire could achieve. It was not adrenaline exactly, but after 1,000 years of existing, Godric could still very much enjoy the thrill of a hunt. Off in the near vicinity Godric could feel his childe's own excitement as he snapped the neck of a soldier before rushing back to his maker, blood staining his mouth. Godric laughed a little because Eric was usually so pristine in his appearance; something he had certainly taken from his human life. Godric was not so vain. The pair had been roaming for over 300 years since Eric had been made vampire. Recently, they had found themselves carving a path south into the heart of the territory which once belonged to the Roman Empire. The ancient teenager liked being around armies; he held a fascination for them ever since he had been captured by one, and this area still claimed one of the largest and best. He knew Eric thought it was a sick fascination, but Godric merely regarded it as a curiosity of their power. It was the one human institution he found absolutely awe-inspiring.

Tonight they treated themselves to a particularly violent army raid, although the purpose was unknown to the two vampires. Choosing sides was not the main objective for their joining in, they merely wanted the free meal. In the chaos of a raid, it was easy to hide in the thick of things. Soldiers are too distracted with their own objective that they hardly notice anything else around them; especially the presence of the unknown and the unexpected. Both vampires felt content now, full with the blood of healthy soldiers and pleased with the silent company of one another.

Suddenly Eric stood up, staring off to the far east side of the kingdom. The pair had intentionally chosen a spot away from the center of things to rest for some moments, and now something in that direction had caught Eric's attention. Godric listened in, but did not move an inch from his position against a thick tree trunk. Godric shook his head as he heard the distinct shouting of human voices in that direction; Eric was still so fascinated by human gatherings and parties. Godric preferred to be alone. Pulling up grass by the roots and tossing the shreds aside, Godric waited for Eric to get over his sudden obsession with the drunk, jeering humans.

"It is nothing, child" Godric said to the other's back. Eric was on high alert now, his impossibly tall frame never moving a single muscle while he listened as if tuning in to a high frequency station. Godric rolled his eyes, nothing good was going to come out of this situation. With speed that no human would be able to see, Eric spun around to face his maker eagerly, "the king," was all he said. Godric cocked his head, picking out the supposed voice of this king above all the others. Finally he was able to locate it, and he turned his attention to Eric who was looking at him very anxiously.

"No," Godric stated simply, and Eric scowled, turning his back yet again. There was no doubt in Godric's mind that Eric would keep this up all night; when he wanted something it became a devotion, and right now Eric wanted to see His Holy Majesty. Godric did not feel it would be safe to venture so close to the humans, a large group of them at that. He feared the duo would draw too much attention just by being themselves. It was not particularly easy blending in when you were a larger-than-life Viking, or an eery teenager with extensive tattoos.

Godric knew this would not be a battle easily won; Eric had not moved at all the entire time he had developed this fascination in seeing the scene, and Godric had already tired of pulling grass. He cleared his throat quietly, but distinctly enough that Eric would surely notice. On cue, the tall vampire turned eagerly once more to face his companion, cocking an eyebrow. This made Godric shake his head, but his smirk was too tell-tale for Eric to think any differently. His expression changed immediately; it was as if Godric was granting him the greatest privilege. "Only for a few minutes," Godric told his progeny sternly. He did not want to waste too much time in the midsts of these humans and their antics.

"But what if it's a sacrifice?" Eric countered, "can we stay longer?"

They approached the courtyard in no time, slowing their vampiric speed to a normal pace when they were in potential view of humans; there were more than Godric had anticipated. He silently hoped Eric would cooperate enough to stay behind the thick of the crowd, but something in Eric's anxious stride told him that that simply was not going to be the case. Godric felt his body tense immediately when they reached the perimeter of the crowd; he was so overwhelmed by the outlandish experience that he had not even given himself the opportunity to glance up at the gaudy makeshift stage that undoubtedly held the King and his precious family.

Godric felt himself scowling. He was not having a good time, but he would try to tolerate this atmosphere for the sake of his excited progeny. It was as if Eric had never seen such a large group of humans before. It was not anything special, Godric could only assume. Finally, after wading into the crowd a bit, Eric had led them to a spot that would give them a good enough view of the characters on stage. The King was still dramatizing. Godric felt as Eric slipped into a comatose state of rapture over the scene, and Godric allowed himself to pick his gaze up to the front. The King that they had heard from such a distance was as ludicrous as he sounded. He stood with such an air of superiority it allowed his dwarfed frame to appear as if it were 7 feet tall, and his gestures were so over-the-top that Godric did not blame his people for being drunk on this occasion. Or any occasion for that matter. There were several other people sitting in a neat row on either side of the King. His son was not as unfortunate looking as his father, but he held the same sense of superiority that must have run in the family. Godric watched as the slightly taller, blonder man made his way to stand in the place his father had been; which only seemed fitting. Godric was so intent on scrutinizing the standing man that he barely noticed the other human who had stood up to join him. His eyes followed the line of the stage to the far right where a girl, who could not have been older than Godric appeared, walked with a fake confidence towards the man. He knew immediately that this girl was not related to the prince or the king at all; her hair was shades darker, brighter, and she did not step with an air of power. Her anger masked her fear, but Godric could still sense it. He vaguely wondered if Eric could sense it too.

From this angle, he could barely make her out. She was not very tall, nor wide to begin with; she was shorter than Godric, easily, but her hips and breasts were full with the signs of being a woman. Perhaps she belonged to this standing man. At the thought, Godric felt an unnecessary twinge of envy, or perhaps it was regret for the poor girl. He furrowed his brows at the ground momentarily, recomposing himself. After hearing a rustle of noise from the stage, Godric looked up again in time to see the king grab the girl and hand her off to his son. When the young woman finally faced the crowd, Godric was able to see her face. With the exception of the lingering scowl, the girl would have been the most beautiful female Godric had ever seen, human or otherwise. Her features fit her face nicely, her eyes a piercing yet honest shade of blue, and a neck so slender and smooth, the vampire could easily pick out the place where a set of fangs would fit perfectly. Thinking of her neck and the blood beneath it sparked an undesired arousal in Godric. He wanted her. He wanted to kill her.

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*Valeirie [Vah-leer-ree] or Valeiriern is the kingdom of Aurelia's origin and where the plot is currently taking place. It is fictional, situated on the Northeastern-most coast of Italy.


	2. Chapter 2

**[Note: A big thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favorited! The support is much appreciated. Wanted to clear a few things up- this story is an epic, it is long and winding and not necessarily happy at times (**_**most of the time, what am I saying?**_**) With that being said, it is not a story that will appeal to everyone and I accept that. There are a lot of filler characters, but they play important roles to push the story along- trust me. I have been getting a few requests to make longer chapters, so I will start reworking things to make them more lengthy.]**

-_A week prior_-

Aurelia ran down the corridor at full speed, picking up her skirts to avoid tripping on them. She would not look back she told herself, but as she peeked a glance over her shoulder she saw the boy chasing after her. She let out a giddy scream and sharply turned the corner, tucking herself away into the fold to wait for Caius to appear. The boy rounded the corner and slowed his pace, confused as to the whereabouts of his victim. Aurelia steadied herself before pouncing on her unsuspecting companion's back with an animalistic growl. Caius immediately spun around, a smirk on his face as he pressed Aurelia back against the wall, using his body to hold her there. "I win," Aurelia's eyes flashed with excitement and mischief as she clutched the boy's shoulders. He looked down into her eyes with his own playful look, "you cheated," he pointed out. A moment of silence passed between the two before their lips found one another. They connected softly at first before Caius began to devour Aurelia greedily. She gasped in surprise, but felt herself wrap her arms around Caius' waist. He responded by snaking a hand up the front of her dress, over her stomach and up towards her breasts. Caius had become rough and coveting in his actions, but Aurelia held still and continued kissing him. Finally he pulled away from her, looking at her with eyes full of lust. "I've waited so patiently," he murmured, pressing his forehead against Aurelia's. She looked up at him, swallowing hard, "I know," she began.

"Then why am I still waiting?" he interrupted, pulling away to look into her eyes again. Aurelia stared back, feeling meek under the intensity of his dark stare.

She sighed, "you know why." Caius leaned back, dropping his arms to his sides. Aurelia felt naked without them around her.

"Don't think about that," he told her, keeping his probing eyes on her face. Aurelia studied him for a moment, so scared to lose him. Caius meant more to her than Prince Evander ever would; than anyone else ever would. She simply could not be with him on principle, it would be breaking the oath she made to the Prince, and to her parents. Aurelia had never been one for following rules, but this one was different, this could cost her family's well-being. She simply could not risk that as much as she wanted to. After she had given up on answering for another moment, Caius grew impatient. He slammed his fist against the wall near her head, startling her.

"You're mine," he hissed, "I don't care what you say, what your parents say, or even what that _mater fucker_ says". Aurelia looked down at the floor, a small smile on her lips.

"I'll kill him," Caius lowered his voice, putting his face very close to Aurelia's. "I'll do it, Aurelia, I swear". Aurelia furrowed her brows only the slightest bit, forcing a look of concern. "Caius are you mad?" she hissed back, "you'll get yourself killed in the process". Caius retaliated with a smug look, "what do _you_ know about that?" he looked her up and down, "let a man handle it," he added with a cocky grin. "You just worry about pleasing me for doing such a good deed later," he said before stealing a kiss. Aurelia gasped and smacked his arm playfully, "Caius, you are going to get me into far too much trouble," a grin spread across her face.

"It will be okay," Caius assured, "I am worth it". He pecked her on the cheek once more before turning on his heel and running off, glancing back to show her a perfect smile.

Aurelia stood rooted to the spot, staring after him. She loved Caius, and she feared for her life what would happen when he was unfairly taken away from her. A part of her wrongfully prayed that his words were true. Perhaps he could get her out of this.

* * *

Aurelia tried her best not to cry again. She would be hard-pressed to ever appear weak, even if she was alone. After the unpleasant ceremony, her mother took her aside only to berate her for giving her personal handmaidens such a hard time. Aurelia knew her mother simply needed an excuse to berate her at all. Before she left Aurelia in her bedroom, her mother cast her a glance of pity. It was not pity for pawning her off to some egotistical maniac, however. It was pity for what Aurelia had become; a less than honorable daughter. Aurelia had never been easy, and she certainly had never been anybody's charity case. To hell with their engagement ceremony, to hell with her mother, with her father, and the entire kingdom. If it were possible for Aurelia to run away and never return, she'd do it now. She would find Caius and run away with him; it did not matter to where. Sadly, she knew better; that plan would never turn out well. Someone would discover that they were gone too soon, and they would barely have the chance to make it out of the kingdom itself. Where would they go, anyway? A runaway Princess-to-be in the company of her secret lover would probably garner a hefty reward, not to mention a war.

Caius had come into her life several years ago, although their relationship had changed significantly with the shift in hormonal tides. Aurelia still remembered the day his tall frame, still not quite filled out yet, approached her to simply utter the words, "I never realized how beautiful you were." She had laughed, perhaps because the same thought had entered her mind about the boy she had always only considered a friend.

Caius was of noble birth as well, and it should have been the perfect match if only his father was wealthier. No political tie would have been made from that union, and there was no way to tell if the Marius family would have been better off had it been arranged for Aurelia to marry her longtime childhood companion instead. Caius had been upset, maybe even more so than Aurelia herself, when he heard the news of the engagement. It only caused him to want to try harder; try harder to keep Aurelia for himself, to make her his. Aurelia knew anger had consumed Caius, for he stopped coming around as often, and when he did the visits were laced with ulterior motives. Nothing could have made Aurelia more sorry about her situation.

* * *

With her time left of freedom dwindling significantly, Aurelia had been easily convinced by Caius to spend some time with their friends; or at least the people whom Aurelia could consider to be the closest to friends she would ever have. The handful of people she was spending her evening with were nothing short of careless when it came to Aurelia's situation; she was convinced they only appreciated her company for the sake of her status.

In the courtyard, she sat with her arms folded stubbornly under her chest as Caius performed a rather animated account of slaying an imaginary demon, gaining the adoring attentions of the others seated around the table. The air was cool for once, refreshing and much-needed. Aurelia closed her eyes for a moment, letting the breeze tickle her skin and rustle her hair as she listened to Caius' energetic voice and the tittering responses of the others. Drifting far off into herself, Aurelia was only brought back by the sound of Caius' voice once again calling out.

"Hey, who goes there?" he yelled in gallant imitation. The others laughed heartily at the act, and it stirred Aurelia enough to open her eyes again. After blinking a few times, her vision settled on a new figure standing close to their gathering; too close. As the others, including Caius, waited for the unwelcomed guest to speak, Aurelia took the initiative of asking him herself.

"Who the hell are you?" she spoke up, raising a brow at the young man. When he turned to look at her, the light hit his face and Aurelia was able to make out his appearance. He looked to be around her own age, with dark hair and stormy eyes. His skin was extremely pale; something that made him stand out amongst the tanned people surrounding him. When his eyes settled on Aurelia, she noticed far too much deliberation in the action; as if he was expecting her to address him.

"That's not very nice," he replied in an accent that Aurelia could not place. "I would think a woman of your caliber would know how to be polite," he added with a shadow of a smirk. Aurelia shot up out of her seat, immediately balling her hands into fists.

"I'm not sure what caliber you believe me to be of, but I can assure you I am not-"

"Hush," Caius cut in, raising the flat of his palm up to stop her before turning to face the stranger again.

"Please excuse the lady, she is a bit..._preoccupied_ at the present moment," her lover picked out the word carefully. It sounded ingenuine even to Aurelia's ears, and she wondered if the strange boy would pick up on it too.

"It is quite alright," he replied, his eyes darting quickly over to Aurelia's scowl once last time.

"I am sorry to intrude, but I realized that I have depleted all of my supplies on my journey, and I am in need of some help finding shelter for the night," he explained directly to Caius who nodded slowly.

"Well, this isn't a place you are welcome to stay," Aurelia piped up again, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Caius simply laughed at her display, clearly thinking she was not being as serious as she intended.

"I am sorry to hear that, my friend," Caius offered, "but she is right, you cannot stay here in the castle." This caused the mysterious boy to nod slowly in understanding, "do you know of a place that would _kindly_ take me in?" Aurelia swore he put emphasis on the word 'kindly' simply for her own benefit; he was mocking her.

"I am sure we can help you," Caius nodded. Aurelia felt very suspicious of him, the budding nobleman was not normally so kind to strangers. The newcomer took a step forward and stumbled, kneeling over a bit to catch himself. This elicited several gasps from the people seated around the table, and even Aurelia craned her neck in curiosity.

"I apologize," the intruder righted himself, "I suffered an injury a few nights back, and I was unable to seek medical attention. I think it may be infected." He cast a glance at Aurelia once more, who simply looked suspicious. Caius stepped off of the chair that served as his mock stage before stepping over to claim the space between the injured traveler and his engaged lover. He folded his hands in a formal manner before turning his face to Aurelia, "dear, I think our new friend needs help. Would you mind terribly taking him to the infirmary to see if he can't be fixed up?" Aurelia knitted her brows together harshly, "would I mind?" she spat, "yes, actually, I would mind. I can't have this..._peasant _entering my home." She looked as if the mere thought absolutely disgusted her, while Caius remained calm, and the stranger nearly gaped at her. A hushed silence fell over the group as everyone refused to address the outburst. In Aurelia's opinion, Caius was being absolutely ridiculous in offering up the services of those who worked for her family to a complete foreigner. For all they knew, he could mean them harm...or be carrying a disease. He looked absolutely filthy. Aurelia stood her ground firmly, exchanging looks with Caius. Something in his soft, pleading gaze began to make her crack. He was much too generous for her, and it only added to his charm. He pressed his palms together, holding the combined hands out in a peace offering to the girl. Setting her jaw in a firm line, Aurelia gave in, unfolding her arms in a huff and stepping back towards the castle. After a few paces, she turned over her shoulder to stare at the stranger, "come in then." She shook her head and stalked off again before waiting for his answer. The stranger nodded in thanks to Caius as he limped past and followed Aurelia.

Sick of waiting, Aurelia, who had already made it several feet ahead of the stranger, turned back and crudely grabbed his arm. Using her weight to support him, she guided the traveler down the brightly lit corridor in the direction of the infirmary.

"Your friend is kind," he spoke up, that same accent befuddling Aurelia as to its origin.

"Yes," she sighed, keeping her eyes ahead.

"Is he your friend, or perhaps your husband?" he asked boldly.

Aurelia snorted at the irony, "no, he is just my friend."

This answer seemed to satisfy the stranger's curiosity for the time being, because he remained silent until they reached the wing where the infirmary was located. The nurses had already retired for the night, and so the young woman was left to navigate the strange instruments and many cupboards full of supplies by herself. The young man sat in a chair, stretching out his injured leg carefully. Aurelia grabbed something that she guessed what astringent and some dressing bandages. Carrying them over to where the foreigner sat, she dumped them on the examining table and forced a sweet smile. The pale boy looked from the supplies to Aurelia's face, lifting a brow slightly.

"I hope you do not expect me to treat your wound myself," she blinked, acting ignorant to the nature of medicine. "I am but a girl of noble birth, I know nothing about treatment," she carried on her act of blinking and forcing a dumb smile. A crooked smirk claimed the young man's face, "it is fine," he told her, "I am very capable of taking care of myself." Whether that was an intentional dig at Aurelia or not, the young woman scoffed and dropped the smile from her lips immediately.

"Do you not want to know how I sustained this injury in the first place?" the crooked smirk remained. Aurelia crossed her arms again.

"A lynx. I was attacked by a lynx while hunting in its territory," he began, but Aurelia laughed rudely and rolled her eyes dramatically, "please stop," she lowered her face to meet the eyes of the boy.

"As harrowing as your tale may be, I did not ask, nor do I care," she shook her head as if the boy should have known better. He leaned back against the chair, reclining his torso and folding his hands across his lap.

"Suit yourself," he retorted. "In any case, you promised to help me find a place to stay," he tilted his face up to look at the girl, "or do you no longer care?" Aurelia sucked in a breath through her teeth, practically praying that God grant her mercy.

"I have been traveling for days, you know. I am very tired, ill, and hungry," he squinted his eyes, as if keeping them open was becoming too great a task. "Outcasted by my village because my house burned to the ground and I had nothing left..."

Aurelia snapped, "you can stay here," she almost shouted, "just as long as you never ask anything else of me again." The pair exchanged glances for a moment before the traveler spoke again, "how kind of you to offer."

It was taking Aurelia every ounce of scarce patience she owned to not throw this mongrel out as fast as he came in.

"What is your name, Miss?" the young man rose, using the arms of the chair for support. At his full height, he was a bit taller than Aurelia, but still shorter than the prince or Caius. She stared up at him with clear, blue eyes, locks of her hair falling into her face just so. The stranger made a small noise of wonder as he looked at her. It should have made Aurelia feel uncomfortable, but she was too full of the remnants of her aggravation to care.

"Aurelia," she murmured, her voice the softest it had been all night. A handsome grin spread across the stranger's lips as he placed a name to her face.

"Godric," he offered with a tip of his head. Aurelia held his gaze for a moment longer before parting her lips again, "that's a stupid name."

* * *

Godric had changed his mind about killing her. He misjudged how difficult it would be to stare this young woman in the face and think about snapping her neck. He could have accomplished the task so easily too. She wouldn't have had time to blink before she hit the ground dead.

When Godric revealed to his childe that he meant to make the Princess his next target, he knew it was not the assumption Eric had created in his mind. However he said nothing for once, knowing that Godric would do as he pleased just the same. He knew Eric had distractions on his mind, and when he came across Eric luring in his latest loose woman, Godric understood exactly what those distractions were. Left to himself for the time being, Godric had taken a risk venturing to the far west end of the castle. It really was a hideous structure, although Godric had never found the dwellings of humans to be of much aesthetic value. It was clear that this family was wealthy, no doubt the head of household being a very powerful man. The vampire had feigned injury, knowing very well that humans reacted strongly to that influence.

Pulling the attention of the humans away from the obnoxious young man and his lude performance was a simple task; getting them to feel any sympathy was another. Godric had known that the girl was not going to be an easy target; she was rude and rather selfish, arguing openly and showing no compassion whatsoever. She was not foolish, unlike the loud boy who trusted too easily in order to appear kindhearted. This young woman was a warrior at heart, for although she was brash, it was plain to see that she thought one step ahead of everyone else. Godric noticed that the young man, whom she called Caius, did not appreciate his opinions or wishes being disregarded. He would go so far as to order a young lady to show a stranger into her own home. The old vampire found this to be very unreasonable behavior, and he had witnessed humans do plenty of very strange things before. The species as a whole exhibited a range of peculiar practices and behaviors; Godric had adopted a rather recent interest in human sociology and enjoyed posing as an expert observer. Eric thought it was a worthless hobby, still being under the impression that most humans were average imbeciles who were easily manipulated and even more easily disposable. It was what he had learned from his maker after all, and so Godric was unable to scold Eric for this thinking. The ancient young man had come to accept that he and his progeny were simply at different levels of understanding when it came to the world they inhabited. Eric would change, and he would learn in due time. For now, Godric was content with allowing Eric to have fun and enjoy himself now that the worst of his upbringing was over.

However dense the human boy may have been, Godric owed him thanks. If it were not for the stipulations of whatever relationship the young man and woman had, the vampire would have never been granted access into her home. He had been right about the family being wealthy; he had never been inside such an outlandishly extravagant household. It was disgusting, but Godric was easily able to mask his distaste for something so trivial. She was impatient, that girl; unrightfully so, Godric thought. He suspected that Aurelia often pushed aside what she was told to believe, told to do, and opted for her own opinions instead. She would be difficult to tame, and the vampire assumed that the girl's human family had already been aware of that. From his previous knowledge of noble families, it was seen as a high disgrace for a young lady to be so out of line, so far from genteel and innocent. Aurelia was simply not what he had been expecting.

It had been at this time that Godric had abandoned his original plan to take her for himself. It was much more difficult to kill a human who feared nothing, but it was also much more fun. Godric had not even realized that he had stalled his initial scheme for so long, until he found himself studying her for much too long. There was an electric energy in the air that surrounded her, something Godric had never noticed about a human. He felt that if he were to get any closer to her, to that electric barrier, that he would immediately be pushed away by the sheer force. This small human may have very well intimidated him, but Godric did not want to see it for himself. Suddenly he felt the overwhelming need to touch the electricity that surrounded her, to test its strength. He wondered if any other vampire would be able to notice its effects as well. Or if it was just him.

There was no way she would ever let him get close enough to her, not on his own accord, and certainly not willingly. When he had asked her name, he did not expect to get an answer, at least not a truthful one. When she told him what was presumably her real name, it repeated itself over and over again inside of his head. He need not commit it to memory; he would not forget it.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This chapter is a little more mature than the previous ones. There is some mental/emotional abuse, so please be aware of that trigger. As always, thank-you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to True Blood. Sadly.**

* * *

Harsh daylight roused Aurelia from one of the deepest slumbers she had experienced in a long time. It was surprising; she would have thought her sleep would be interrupted by horrible dreams of what had happened the day before...or the night before. Waking up however, she was no less different than she had been when she fell asleep. She was still miserable, still angry, and still lost.

Sitting up brought a rush of memories into the forefront of Aurelia's mind. The boy. Was he still here? She had cursed herself for offering him a place to stay, but as she saw it it was the only way to get him out of her hair. The girl had no time to worry about injured travelers; she had to plan the escape from her fast-approaching destiny, after all.

The stone ground was cold beneath her bare feet as she padded over to the large open window. It bore a view of the western field, a thick forest of neat olive trees standing in formation like soldiers, and the vineyard off in the uppermost eastern corner. Her family owned a lot of land, and yet she had always taken advantage of it from an early age. Her parents had strictly forbid Aurelia and her siblings from venturing down into the village where the merchants, craftsmen, and peasants lived. The thick of the city. The marketplace bursting with color and life and adventure. Still to this day she had never seen it, only the goods and stories that servants and travelers brought back to the castle with them. It was a rather depressing thought, that a young woman would go from one sheltered life to another, kept locked away tightly in a cage of her own ignorance. Aurelia had no desire to be that young woman, to live in comfortable darkness for the remainder of her life. Thinking of this brought her directly back to the foreigner.

Without bothering to dress out of her nightgown, Aurelia turned on her heel and raced out of the room, following the humid hallway to reach the door which concealed her bedchambers. Once stepping out into the open air of the main entranceway, Aurelia struggled to remember where she had instructed the young man to stay the night before. There were three separate locations within the castle that held spare rooms for guests and visitors...or intruding strangers in this case. It made the most sense to her irrational mind that she would have put the traveler as far away from her as possible, which led her to the conclusion of the far North corridor. Heading in that direction, Aurelia was halted abruptly by the sudden presence of her older sister, Petrona, and a young servant girl who trailed behind her.

"Aurelia," her sister spoke up as she laid eyes on the younger girl. She placed herself directly in Aurelia's path, giving her no option but to stay and talk.

"I was just on my way to see you," she explained, "when I ran into young Alba here," she brought the young girl forward. Aurelia noticed that she was holding a folded letter in her hands, clutching it as if it tied her to the very ground she stood on. Aurelia raised her gaze to meet Petrona's stern expression, "so?" she pressed. There was no time for whatever Petrona wanted to bring to Aurelia's dwindling attention; she desperately wanted to know if the stranger had left yet.

"Alba was tending to the north wing this morning, when she came across this," Petrona plucked the note from Alba's small hands, holding it out to Aurelia. The younger sister took the note, first noticing that her own name was scrawled across the front of it. Her bright eyes met both of the faces in front of her for a moment before she carefully unfolded the letter. She had a sinking feeling about who this was written by, and her fears were confirmed as soon as she read the first sentence:

"_Aurelia, I wish to extend my gratitude for your humble grace in aiding me this evening_"

Wonderful.

"_I would also like to say, if I may, that you will make a perfect lady of the house some day soon._

_Yours, Godric_"

Aurelia folded the letter without care as she focused on the empty space the neatly printed words had only recently occupied.

"It's addressed to you," Petrona stated obviously, "and it's from a man." When Aurelia forced herself to look at her sister, she recognized the tell-tale signs that Petrona was displeased. Her arms were crossed firmly, her gaze was hard, and her jaw was set in a tight line. Aurelia was at a loss for words; there was no explanation, and she did not dare ask if Godric was still a guest with them.

"What were you _aiding_ him with last night, Aurelia?" Petrona lowered her eyelids, squinting at the image of her younger sister standing in the harsh glare of her own mistake.

"Why does it matter?" Aurelia's voice came out hoarsely. The other woman gave her an incredulous look, not interested in playing games.

"You know why it matters," she accused, "it matters because you are a young lady who is engaged to be married, and it is highly inappropriate to run about in the middle of the night with a man. A different man than the one whom you just agreed to marry...Let alone invite him into your home. For Christ's sake, Aurelia, could you imagine what mother would say if she found out about this?" Petrona snatched the letter from Aurelia's limp grip, brandishing it in front of her face for effect. Aurelia grabbed the letter out of the air, shooting her sister a dirty look before stuffing it into the pocket of her night robe. Some time during Petrona's scolding, the servant girl Alba had managed to escape, and Aurelia only noticed her absence now. She wished she could disappear unnoticed like that.

"I already allow you to run around with the heathen Caius without spreading a word that could get back to mother," Petrona reminded her, "I refuse to keep any more of this a secret. You are not a child any longer, Aurelia, it is time to start growing up."

"I didn't want any of this, you know...Or rather, you don't, because you are too interested in living the life you were robbed of through me." Such a harsh thing to say to the only person Aurelia had ever trusted, the only person she could ever trust with everything that she herself was unable to handle alone. It had hurt Petrona too, she could tell. Her older sister's face fell, and her dark eyes threatened tears. Immediately Aurelia regretted her words, although she had yet to learn how to hold her tongue.

"Petrona," she tried reaching out, spreading words of comfort, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, you know I didn't." Words that would come up empty because the damage she had already committed was irretrievable. Petrona wiped at her eyes before setting them down on Aurelia's face.

"I hope that one day you learn that you are luckier than you think, and that you regret throwing it away on some silly fantasy," the words hung and reverberated in the space between the women. With one last look, Petrona turned around and walked away from her beloved sister, holding her arms against herself to keep herself from being from unraveling. In her pocket, Aurelia's hand crumpled the note. It was her own fault, but she was not responsible enough to have the blame placed on herself, and so she decided to resent the strange boy. She would detest him and his unwanted presence through the note that he had left her, such an unnecessarily kind gesture, and yet Aurelia had gotten herself to believe that it was meant to make a mockery of her.

* * *

"He was weird, that boy," Caius commented, throwing a stick into the water and watching as the waves lapped it up. The girl at his side picked up handfuls of sand and watched as the miniscule specks trickled through her fingers.

"Why'd you invite him into my castle then?" she gave him a sidelong glance.

"Because," Caius chuckled, "I thought it would be a nice laugh to watch you bob for air." He threw another twig into the sea and it quickly disappeared. Aurelia huffed air through loose lips, throwing the remaining sand on the ground at her sides.

"You're not very approachable, you know," he piped up again, "the others and I were discussing it after you left." With this news, Aurelia felt sufficiently annoyed with Caius. She knew that she was not popular among the others their age, but she had never suspected that they would be unkind to her, especially when it was perpetuated by Caius.

"Well, you've damned yourself with that little trick," she crossed her arms, "I think Petrona is going to tell." She was surprised to hear the smugness in her tone, as if wanting for Caius' displeased reaction was more important than keeping herself out of trouble. As expected, Caius kept his head level at first, shaking it to refuse Aurelia's claim.

"No, she wouldn't do that," he tossed the last stick before settling down next to his girlfriend.

"How can you be so sure?" Aurelia tossed her head up, "just this morning she told me that she did not want to keep any more of my secrets." Still, Caius refused to believe it.

"She won't tell," he pressed, "your sister is too much of a coward to let that slip, and besides, she knows she is bound to be nothing by the end of her life. She needs to keep you in your parent's good graces if she has any hope of joy." Caius did not look at Aurelia, instead he adopted his own smug expression and gave it to the horizon. Feeling suddenly offended, Aurelia snapped at her companion, "where do you get off saying a thing like that?" she rose to her knees, now at Caius' height as he sat still.

"You're not that dense, Aurelia," he sighed like he had been explaining this countless times, "your sister is worthless, and you are her last link to any semblance of a full life she could ever have. If you marry the prince and do as you're told, have children, what have you...then your sister will have an escape from misery." This time Caius did not shy away from looking directly at Aurelia as he spun the tale of her sister's fate. Aurelia could do nothing but stare at Caius in utter disbelief. None of this was true, and he had no right to say it.

"Fuck you," she spat, rising to her feet now. Caius dared to chuckle at her reaction, looking up at her with the late afternoon sun in his face.

"I'm serious, you bastard," she shouted, kicking sand in his direction. Caius only laughed more, waving a hand at her to calm down. Aurelia may not have been on good terms with her sister, but she would not stand for someone to insult her like that, not even Caius.

"Aurelia, please," he said through his most charming grin. "I did not mean to offend you."

Aurelia turned away from him, pretending to focus her attention on the opposite skyline.

"I know you're still listening," Caius crooned, "I can see it in the way the corner of your mouth twitches."

Still, Aurelia refused to face him. A long silence blanketed the scene, only the gentle waves hitting the wet sand provided the noise around them. Finally Caius inhaled sharply,

"this naivety act is starting to get old," he commented. Aurelia turned her head over her shoulder, staring him down.

"It was one thing when I still found it cute. Something to change, something to break," Caius saw that his prize was now caught in his trap, unknowingly about to be stuck there for good.

"Now you're too aware for it to work in your favor. You're too spoiled for me to get any joy out of it." Caius rose to his feet, taking his time to reach Aurelia before he carried on.

The future soldier had decided a long time ago what he wanted. He had barely been a boy of thirteen when his fate had been sealed for him. His father had been a decorated war hero, one of the best knights in the king's army, and it was only fitting that Caius should grow to do the same. Had he wanted to do anything else, be a separate man from his father, it simply wouldn't be heard of. Caius fancied himself a brave man, a strong man both of will and of power. Had he wanted to be a different man, he could have given himself the opportunity to start life anew, travel, and find hope elsewhere. Caius did not want to be a different man, though. He had always wanted what he wanted, and so he decided long ago that if he should be so lucky as to get to honor himself with the perfect life, it should come with everything he deserved. As a soldier, he would have no chance to marry and father sons; it was a rare occurrence what had happened to his father. Only the best of the best were relieved for the purpose of procreation, to make more warriors, to honor the kingdom with the best young men they had to offer. Most of the others died in battle. Caius could be great; he _should _be great, the way he saw it. A darker, frightened part of him taunted him constantly. It told him that he was not one of the great ones, that he would fail his father and bring his kingdom disgrace. That part of him brought him omens of death, quick and painless, or long and bloody. It was a part of him that Caius did everything to conceal beneath layers of pride and boyish aggression. The same part of him that forced him to take what he deserved, swallow it all up and destroy it before anyone else could, before he would no longer have the chance to.

Aurelia had never had an option; she would always be tied to some duty, or belong to someone else. His sweet Aurelia, the same girl he had ran around the castle yard with as a child. He had teased her and hit her as a child, branding her with bruises and scratches that her lady mother would scold her for. Caius was never reprimanded for his brutality against her. She was his plaything, an object to be owned and used for his own enjoyment. All the way up until their teenage years, when they began to be considered too old to be companions any longer. Aurelia was being groomed for life as a lady, and her mother no longer permitted her to keep the company of young men; it was inappropriate, and would not bode well for Aurelia's marriage potential. Still, Caius saw her as something he had already claimed. They had raised her too well, made her too pretty to be overlooked. It was only a matter of time before the royal prince got his claws into her. Aurelia's father had agreed to the marriage only too quickly; the king wanting his finest Lord to be family. Caius had brooded for a long while, avoiding most contact with Aurelia for fear that he would go too far. It drove him mad; the prince was not even in line to be king with his mother being too lowborn. It would be his son, the king's grandson that would take the throne, and they needed a highborn girl to grant them one.

In a fit of mad rage and delusion, Caius had snuck into her chambers late one night, waking her to beg of her the answers that plagued his thoughts.

"_Tell me you don't love him, Aurelia. Tell me that you want to be with me, you love me_."

Aurelia had been startled, and somewhat angry with Caius, who had not been man enough to withhold his tears. She had told him that she loved him, whether or not it had been after his pressures, his pleas, or his sorrow, Caius could care less. All he needed was the reassurance that Aurelia's heart was his to keep. In that way, he could have a hold on her.

He had harbored plans to ruin her, to force a tie between them that would anchor her life to his. For the past year he had tried, without much success, to get her into bed with him. Most times Aurelia had refused on the whole, too frightened, or too proud to sleep with someone whom she was not wed to. It drove Caius mad. It was he who should have Aurelia, he who should lay with her at night and fill her full of his children. He had planned this, this had been his destiny since he was a little boy. If he could alienate Aurelia from her family, get her to trust him and only him, then it would be that much easier to get what he wanted. She was just yet a woman, and so she lacked the proper understanding of self-worth, as she had none. Aurelia's real worth was in Caius; to please him, to give him the sons that he may never have in the life that was given to him. She was the most important pawn in his game, and he was about to lose her.

He took a bold step closer to her now, smelling the clean perfume from her hair.

"Now I will never get what I want. I can't fuck you, I can't make you mine because someone else has already put a price on your head, on what's between your legs..."

Aurelia was frozen in time, unable to move away even if her mind was sending a desperate signal to leave now. Caius continued his advance, and then began circling her like a menacing predator.

"Did you fuck him?" he blurted, the nature of his tone too accusing, too harsh.

Aurelia struggled to imagine who Caius was referring to, but she did not dare ask.

"I honestly thought he might take you for himself. Travelers can be awfully aggressive, even when they've already received a very generous invitation to be near a beautiful woman alone..." Caius was too close to her, and the hot words on her neck made her skin crawl. Now she knew who Caius was referring to. The foreigner, the strange young man who had come upon them the night before. Her heart was racing. She did not like the colors Caius was beginning to show her, and she grabbed desperately at the hope that this may all be a trick, the disgusting, vile trick of a young man.

"Caius, please," her voice was weak, shaking just as her hands were. The man behind her brought a hand up to push her hair aside, exposing her ear to the cool air.

"Life is not fair," he hissed against her skin, "that I have tried so hard, too hard, and you go and spread your legs for a complete stranger out of the goodness of your heart instead."

Aurelia felt the sting of tears in the corners of her eyes and the sickness in the pit of her stomach. These were horrible, completely false accusations against her. Why Caius continued with this awful game, Aurelia had no answer. She could no longer even console herself in the fact that he might be joking.

"Why'd you do it, Aurelia, hmm?" he hummed against the back of her neck, tracing fingertips over the flesh. Aurelia flinched beneath his touch, unable to bear it. She escaped him completely and took two sizable paces away from him. When she turned slowly to finally get a look at the fool, she saw no light in his eyes, no sign to assure her that this was a game. Her stomach dropped, and her palms felt clammy. The hair stuck to the back of her neck with sweat, and goosebumps dotted her skin. There had been times in the past when Aurelia misunderstood Caius, when she had thought that he meant no harm in his sometimes twisted humor. Now was a very different time. Now the young man standing only feet away had been replaced by something hideous, something violent. Even hinting at the fact that he may have intentionally put her in harm's way for the sake of a story, for the sake of a personal thrill made Aurelia feel nauseous. Of course, the boy had not harmed her, nor had he made any attempt to. Aurelia had done nothing wrong, nothing to illicit such a strange and frightening reaction from one whom she had loved so unconditionally.

"I didn't," she tried defending herself, but could not bring her gaze to meet his. Caius took a step forward, and the sudden movement made Aurelia jump. He enjoyed it too, seeing her squirm like this. It was plainly obvious in the malicious grin he wore, the way he looked at her as if he planned to eat her alive.

"What's that?" he cupped his hand to his ear, bringing his head forward. Aurelia felt even weaker in the light of scrutiny. She would run, run all the way back to the castle if only Caius would not be able to catch her first. He was faster and stronger than she was, and he could harm her if he really wanted to; if that had truly been his intention this entire time.

"I said 'I didn't'," she spoke up a bit, "I didn't sleep with him."

Caius was silent for a long while, and Aurelia did not bother to raise her eyes to see what he was plotting. Whether he believed her or not was beyond her control, she could tell. Caius was in the business of crafting his own versions of what happened, or what would happen. If he wanted to believe that Aurelia had been defiled by the traveler, then he would go on believing it forever.

"But did you want to?" Caius prodded.

"What?" Aurelia squeaked.

"Did you want to fuck him?" Caius forced through clenched teeth.

"No," Aurelia responded immediately, "I swear, Caius, I wanted nothing to do with him." She was pleading with him now, begging him to forgo this uncomfortable journey. Nothing she said was a lie either, she truly did not want anything to do with the strange boy who appeared out of the woods last night. Caius glared at her, his eyes bearing down on her with such a force that Aurelia felt the heat rise from her face in embarrassment. She did not want to have this conversation, nor did she want to make Caius any angrier. She found herself cursing the introduction of the traveler for the second time that day.

"How can I trust you?" Caius gave her a wolfish grin, one that told her that he had many unspoken thoughts roaming in the wild range of his mind. Aurelia shook her head, not understanding, and not wanting to have to defend herself. Tears threatened her eyes once more, and she sobbed once. None of it affected the man, who only tossed his head back in a laugh. He thought she was pathetic, no longer worthy of his affection or even his pity.

"Please," Aurelia cried, the tears beginning to fall.

For a brief moment, Caius turned to look at Aurelia's face, and she swore she saw a flicker of something, a flicker of the young man she had known before. The Caius who supposedly existed before this irrationally jealous monster took over and claimed him, body and soul. Aurelia clung to that look, that brief softening of the eyes that lasted for no more than a split-second. He looked at her, as she looked back at him. Her eyes were filled with emotion and tears, while his were empty and dry. A rift began to form between them, silent yet strong. Aurelia wrapped her arms around herself, feeling suddenly cold in the darkening air and under the chilly gaze of the man standing opposite her. Caius set his mouth in a firm, thin line, almost as if he were grimacing at her.

Aurelia should not have been seeking his forgiveness, and a hidden part of her knew that. Caius had insulted her sister, insulted herself, and put her in harm's way. He had done nothing without it favoring his own personal gain, and he was hopelessly selfish. These were things that had always been a part of Caius, but Aurelia had somehow managed, in her young, naive mind, to overlook them, or forgive them; whichever of the two was correct was no longer important to the young woman. A tiny, lost voice in the back of her mind screamed at her stand up for herself; she had done it many times in the past, and she could do it again. She was not weak, she was nobody's fool. She was a Marius, a member of a House known for their fearlessness and wit. She could get out of this, she could leave now and keep Caius away from her forever. It would be the easiest thing; she had guards, and knights, and older brothers at her expense and soon she would be royalty. No one would touch her then, no one would dare cross her path once she married the prince. She felt herself building the threat deep within her chest, readying herself to hurl it in Caius' pleased face. She hated him, absolutely loathed him with all of her being now. The only thing that was keeping her from ending it all was the hate she felt for herself, a hate that could cast a shadow over anything she could ever feel.

"All you can do is beg," Caius cut in, a proud look still on his face. It seemed nothing Aurelia could do would ever hurt his pride; this caused her to deflate, abandon any plan she may have began to form in the darkness of her mind.

"It's sad, really," he shook his head, "I always thought much more highly of you, but when you strip away the hard mask you wear you're nothing but a lonely, lost little girl." The words cut deep into Aurelia like razors, but it was not anything she had not thought of herself before. That was her greatest fear, her biggest insecurity; that someday someone would discover that she was perhaps not the courageous, fierce, cunning woman she was supposed to be; that she was not a true Marius. The sixteen year-old was not short of an attitude, nor was she dumb. She listened with ears that picked up everything, saw with eyes that told her all she needed to know, and spoke words that could be both thoughtful and clever, raw and poignant. Aurelia had long since learned how to be graceful and pleasant while also being sharp and analytical. The only thing missing was the true mark of a Marius, things that she did not have the time to grow into; as she would not be only a Marius for much longer.

As much as she did not want Caius to be right, he was. Behind every sneer and hard stare she gave, there was a lost girl looking for something to believe in. If she could not believe in herself, then she was always bound to find herself caught in a trap; just as she was now.

Standing there still, arms wrapped tightly around herself, Aurelia fixed a stare on Caius' face that would have made any normal person's confidence weaken under the glare of it. Now Caius merely smirked, managing to find amusement in her growing fury.

"What is so funny to you?" she spat, regaining the anger that drove her most times. Caius maintained his own gaze, still too proud.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you. You'll be gone before you ever even get to truly know a woman," she threatened. This made Caius' face fall slightly, but his mask was thick, nearly impenetrable to Aurelia's advances.

"You won't get rid of me," his voice was a low growl now, "you can hide behind your mock power all you want, but you will always be pathetic. You will always need me to reassure you. You will come back to me before you know it, before the first of the prince's seed even begins to grow in your belly. You'll take me back, Aurelia, and that will be how it ends."

Aurelia stood her ground, holding her head a bit higher contrast to the dried tears that still left streaks on her skin.

"So much confidence for someone with such a short expiration date," she mused, tilting her head to examine him, his crumbling exterior. It appeared as though she was not the only one with a false facade. Caius sneered at her, turning the corner of his mouth up in an ugly fashion. Aurelia took the new opportunity to press on.

"The way I see it, you will be long gone to war before my future son takes his first breath, and when he grows and you return, you can rest easy knowing your well-being is in the hands of my own kin, my own blood." Aurelia took a few brave paces forward, coming eye-to-eye with Caius, who looked absolutely absurd.

"I decide your fate, dear Caius. Your children's fate, and their children's fate...For many generations, I will have the upper hand. Then we shall see who looks pathetic."

With one last glance, Aurelia turned her back to him boldly, waltzing across the beach back towards the path which would lead her back home. She left Caius behind, knowing that whatever they had was now over. The past many years of their childhood friendship, and the past many months of their romantic interests were over in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Aurelia would shed no tears for what she had lost, as she began to wonder what she really had in the first place.

She may have been lost, lonely, naive, wrong, young, petulant, stubborn, passionate, impossible...but she was no fool; she would never be anybody's fool.

* * *

At the age he was, Godric could afford to rise early; Eric on the other hand, tended to sleep in. He would need to wait for the shield of total darkness to hunt anyway, so Godric did not mind waiting for Eric. When his progeny did finally stir, he immediately voiced his curiosity about the previous night.

"You took your time," Eric commented as if he truly expected his maker to indulge him with the story. Godric only grinned at his childe. He had returned to the deep cave where he and Eric had chosen to make their resting place very close to dawn the previous night. At that time, Eric had already retreated far back into the protection of the darkness, preparing for death-like slumber. Now the pair was sitting just inside the mouth of the cave, waiting. Godric was waiting for any signs of humans, but Eric was waiting for Godric to divulge. They would be there all night if Eric had truly believed his maker would do such a thing. Godric was a very private person mostly, even with his own progeny there were things he would not so easily share. Eric was just looking for a good story; he knew Godric had snuck off to track down the girl, the pretty one who stood by the king the other night. Eric recalled her being very frightened, and he secretly hoped they were going to sacrifice her. These people seemed nothing if not fun-loving. Eric sniggered to himself.

"What?" Godric spoke up, barely turning his head to face Eric.

"Did you do it?" Eric asked slowly, still trying to get some details.

"Do what?" Godric asked, genuinely confused.

Eric sighed and pressed his elbow into Godric's side, hard enough to cause his maker to stir, but gently enough so as to be playful.

Godric turned his head sharply to face Eric, still waiting for further explanation.

"The girl," Eric huffed, but Godric simply turned his face away from his childe.

"Her!" Eric pressed on, shooting a long finger in the general direction of the castle. Godric knew very well whom and what Eric was speaking of, and he knew that Eric knew Godric understood as well. Although he was not at all in the mood, Godric had to give Eric some semblance of an answer, or else he would never hear the end of it.

"No," he simply stated.

"No...?" Eric cocked an eyebrow, always wanting more.

"No, I didn't do 'it', whatever 'it' may be," Godric said.

"Well, I know you did not harm her," Eric ventured, "or else there would be much more commotion around this place," he indicated the kingdom. "I assume she is of value if she was a special guest of the King's," Eric mused, mostly to himself. Although Godric was making no effort at a response to Eric's assumptions, he had been listening very carefully, eager to find what his childe would conclude.

"She is still alive..." Eric said it as a statement, but there was a slight inflection that anticipated Godric's confirmation. Godric tilted his chin down in a small nod, sufficient enough response for him. However, Eric's eyes remained locked on his stubborn maker, willing him to engage in the conversation still.

"You told me yourself you wanted her," Eric blurted out, not satisfied enough with Godric's lack of willingness to share what he knew. "I only assumed you meant as your prize," Eric muttered, just loud enough for it to elicit a reaction from the other. "And yet, it took you much too long to simply go in and get the job done," Eric continued to push, "I can only assume something...distracted you".

"Did I say that?" Godric spoke up, unconcerned. "It must have been only in passing."

Eric laughed, a clear and pleasing sound that echoed throughout the interior of the rocky place they were calling home. If he believed that Godric was keeping any information from him, he no longer pressed to get it out of him.

As the pair watched the remnants of red dissipate in the sky, a comfortable silence ensued. For more than three past centuries, Godric had greatly enjoyed Eric's company, and Eric had been growing into himself nicely; as a vampire that was. Godric had admittedly been having a good time as well, traveling with Eric; hunting and teaching and learning and growing. The already-ancient vampire had come to find that he still had much left to learn as well, and the addition of a progeny had only enriched his existence; just as he thought Eric would.

As for the girl, Godric had not entirely been expecting what he had received. Aurelia was far less of a princess-to-be than he had assumed. The young woman he had met the night before was not among the same breed who spent their lives from birth preparing for wifehood and motherhood, nor was she skilled in the art of hospitality, or even politeness for that matter. The way she had disregarded him, and looked at him as if he were a complete inconvenience to her tiny life made Godric feel oddly intrigued. It had only been fitting that her lover be an inconsiderate, pompous fool. Why bother, he wondered. Then again, as a self-proclaimed expert in human behavior, Godric had understood that humans do very strange things for the most trivial of reasons.

Now he was wondering what she made of his note. The thought alone made him grin to himself. She had not wanted to help him, and he purposefully wrote the note to point out the very fact that she had in the end.

"She's strange," Godric mused aloud, catching Eric's attention.

The blonde man chuckled again, "you're strange too, you know," he said, as if telling his maker to be careful with his words.

Godric shrugged, "maybe we all are."

Eric shook his head, "I'm not," he countered facetiously.

The two sat in silence for a long while until Eric began to grow restless once more, "so when will you be seeing her again?"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I have re-worked the chapters (combined chapters 1 & 2, 3 & 4). So if you're wondering why the story went from 6 chapters to 4, it was due to that. **

* * *

The hunt had been very successful that night. Godric had already taught Eric that he did not always have to kill in order to get what he wanted; it was a lesson that took himself a long while to learn. There had been a time when Eric had a severe problem with killing humans; back when he was a very young vampire and felt uncomfortable taking a life, and then he graduated to killing everything that moved. Eventually, with time and practice, Eric had managed to find a peaceful balance.

Godric could see how much Eric was enjoying it here, and although they ought to consider leaving the area sooner rather than later, Godric allowed them to stay for the sake of Eric's amusement. It made Godric think of how different they actually were; Eric was much more social and thrived off of attention, where Godric was more introverted and prefered smaller settings . Still, the duo enjoyed each other's company more so than any other being; part of the reason why they had stayed together for so long already. Eric was perfectly capable of being on his own and doing as he pleased, but Godric knew that his childe preferred the company of his maker, and in a way that suited him just fine. After over a thousand years of being alone, it was time for Death to have a companion.

The eternal youth opened his eyes now, directing his gaze to where Eric sat a few yards away. The Viking vampire had been mingling with several young women for the past hour now. They were all incredibly drunk and very interested in whatever the tall blonde had to say; which had been nothing of particular fascination in Godric's opinion. It was never Eric's goal to stimulate a woman intellectually, so the only reason he would bother with small talk would be for his own pleasure. A few times, Godric had caught snippets of their conversation as he sat against the solid trunk of a tree, daydreaming. Eric would tell a humorous story, or an anecdote of something he had done in the past; all of which were true unbeknownst to the women. Godric grinned to himself as he listened to Eric with his sensitive hearing. His childe did truly know the art of entertaining. That was not a skill Godric had bestowed upon him. Although the vampire was more than capable of working a room, he preferred to leave the task to someone else.

There had been a time when Eric had challenged him to prove his capabilities, not believing that his teenaged maker could really provide enough amusement to keep a crowded room invested. One night they had posed as humans, as they had done many times before, and crashed a party; something to honor a newly anointed knight or whomever. Godric had proven Eric wrong outright; after getting close to the lady of the house, claiming to be a long-lost relative, he was then quickly introduced to everyone around him. Eric had been introduced as his personal guard, much to Godric's secret pleasure. Eric had been less than delighted by the new title. By then it was only a matter of time until the young-looking man had captured the attention and affection of everyone in the large greatroom. When they left, he had bragged to Eric that he did not need to use flashy stories or tall tales to prove his competence in the art of entertaining.

Although Godric knew very well what Eric had planned for the group of admiring women, he could not help but tune in for a moment to listen to the course their conversation had now taken.

"_Just tell me a little about her,_" he could hear Eric's deep voice persuading one or more of the women.

"_Well, what is it you want to know_?" a young woman cooed a response.

"_Anything," _Eric murmured.

Godric cocked an eyebrow, suddenly becoming curious.

"_Why do you want to know about _her_...I want you to know about _me," another woman drunkenly giggled, and Godric rolled his eyes to himself. Really, some of the women Eric kept the company of were not the brightest, but Godric supposed Eric was not after them for their wits or charms.

"_Aurelia is an odd girl," _a different woman scoffed.

Godric sat up straighter, frozen in place.

"_Yeah, she never leaves that castle, and when she does it is only to turn her nose up at everyone_," the first woman chimed in.

"'_Aurelia' is it_?" Eric chuckled, and then focused his energy on one of the women when there was a long pause in the conversation.

"_Yeah, she is Lord Marius' youngest daughter,_" a new woman added, not wanting to be left out of Eric's affections.

Godric looked down at the dark ground, letting himself become swallowed up by the distant conversation.

"_But why do you want to know about her anyway_?" the drunk woman whined again.

"_Especially when _we _are all already here,_" which elicited a fit of giggles from the other ladies.

Eric joined in on the laughter momentarily, "_don't you worry, I am only intrigued by way of a friend of mine_".

Godric stopped listening just before a fit of giggles rose up from the crowd of women again. Sucking in an unnecessary breath, Godric stood up and began to walk over to Eric's little party; making sure to move at a normal human pace so as to not alarm the women surrounding the Viking vampire. He knew he was in eyeshot when Eric turned his attention to him, which caused the eight women to look towards him as well.

"Speak of the devil," Eric exclaimed as Godric drew even closer to the small crowd. Normally he would have chuckled at the irony of that phrase, but he was in no such mood now. Godric stopped a few feet away from the group and eyed Eric, who gave him a very charming smile in return.

"So this is the one?" he heard a woman distinctly whisper into Eric's ear as she rudely pointed a finger in his direction; as if he weren't standing a mere six feet away from her.

Eric ignored her question, instead keeping his eyes locked on his maker, "why don't you join us, _friend_?" Eric added clear emphasis to the last word, only meaning to push Godric's buttons. He was unsure why Eric was so set on pushing this issue, but the part of Godric that enjoyed a challenge began to show itself.

"No," he replied simply, shaking his head, "I think I'll go for a walk". With that, he maneuvered around Eric and his group of adoring fans and sauntered off into the woods. Godric knew Eric would hate knowing his maker was out doing something that he didn't know about, and Godric hardly believed he would share it with Eric the next night.

* * *

The vampire walked for what seemed like over an hour, simply enjoying the peaceful quiet of the woods before he reached a clearing. At first, Godric believed he had made it back to the courtyard of the castle he and Eric had been to the night before; a night that seemed like ages ago. However, Godric knew it could not be the same place. He had walked in a much different direction. There was torchlight, although it glowed dimly from this far away as the unmistakable shape of the large stone structure that was the castle stood visible off to the distant right. Godric had not necessarily meant to venture towards the castle, he had simply walked in a direction that suited him at the time. Now he was facing a stony pathway that would take a traveler up towards the castle if he turned right, or down towards the shore if he chose to go left. Godric hesitated for a mere moment while making a decision, when an interesting scent drifted up towards him from the sea. Left it was, then.

He picked up his pace to make up for the distance, staying within the boundaries of the trees so as to not be detected. When Godric could smell the strong salty air drifting from the sea, he slowed to a normal human walk and broke out from his wooded shelter. He had lost the scent completely now; it had been fading in and out as he ventured down the hill, but now he could not pick it up at all. Peering around anxiously, Godric saw nothing of interest. He took a few more paces closer to a sandy dune, scaling it gracefully until he had almost reached the top. There it was. He began to pick up on the scent once more. It was a new scent, but one that he enjoyed very much. As if on cue, Godric turned his head slightly to the right, and saw the girl sitting amongst a large shield of wildflowers.

He remained where he was, watching her for a moment. Aurelia had not realized that she was no longer alone, and Godric contemplated turning back. Although he was too far to be certain, it appeared as though she had been crying, and her heartbeat was slow as if she were being lulled into sleep. He had made no private plans to see her again; not after the previous night, which he still had not fully worked out in his mind. The vampire had wanted to apply his knowledge of human social behavior to the subject of Aurelia, but he had not been able to manage it. This struggle perturbed him. The boy, the one who had made a great show of being some sort of demon slayer, had been too easy to figure out. Most humans were of no particular challenge to Godric; they were driven by more or less of the same motives and all strived for similar successes. Aurelia however, had been outwardly rude to him the previous night, making a fuss over his simple presence, and now she was here looking the most vulnerable Godric had ever seen a human. These were two extremes, and Godric had too many missing pieces to discover the reasonings why. He crouched low behind the cover of the dune, peering over at the lonesome young woman. She was doing nothing, merely sitting there while holding her legs tightly against her chest and staring blankly ahead of her. Godric raised an eyebrow in curiosity, shifting his position slightly to get a better look.

It was late, far past the time a young lady should be out, and yet Aurelia could not bring herself to take the long walk back to her castle. After she had left Caius standing alone and dumbfounded; and still most likely angrier than hell, she had ventured towards the opposite shore that formed the perimeter of the castle boundaries. If Caius had come looking for her, he had done a poor job but Aurelia liked to believe that he would leave her alone from now on. It had begun to pain her that a chapter of her life felt like it was finally coming to a close, made ever apparent by the death of her relationship with Caius. It was not as if she had meant everything she had said to him. What she said regarding Caius getting what he deserved, perhaps, but she was not at all looking forward to becoming the prince's wife and giving him children. New tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over to create new trails of wetness on her face. She had been sitting out here crying silently for hours maybe; she had not been keeping careful track of time, she usually never did. The tears had been unexpected; Aurelia did not much enjoy crying unless it was in the solace of her own privacy. She had cried in front of Caius earlier, and she feared that had made her appear weak. For a man who had been forcing her into submission for a while now, Caius had seemed pleased that he had managed to break her spirits enough to cause that sort of reaction. Thinking of this drew a desperate sob from Aurelia's throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Now Godric had made up his mind, deciding that it was time to go. For as much as he wanted to study Aurelia's erratic behavior some more, he thought kindly enough to allow her some privacy. He suspected that she would be furious, or at the very least embarrassed, if she discovered that he was watching her.

As he turned to go, something high up above caught his eye. A small, gleaming object was dangling from a tree that marked the edge where dirty sand started to meet vegetation. Godric looked at it more closely, trying to determine what it was.

He leapt down silently from the short dune, carefully treading over to the tree where the glittering omen hung. As he stopped beneath the branch, which was still several feet above his head, Godric recognized the item to be a pendant attached to a gold chain. From its height, he could only make out the sparkling face of a ruby. He decided that someone had hurled the entire thing up into the tree in the hopes of getting rid of it. Suddenly the vampire's gaze moved back in the direction of the girl. Her back was to him now, mostly blanketed by the thickness of the wildflowers; she would not be able to see him unless she turned directly around, and still, the night was too dark for her to clearly make him out. His gut told him that there was no simple coincidence between both Aurelia's and the pendant's presence; she had put the necklace up there.

A small smirked crossed his lips as he placed his hands loosely on his hips, looking between the girl and the necklace, pondering as to how exactly she had managed that throw. It had to have been nearly twenty feet in the air, and the delicate chain was wrapped perfectly around the thinnest of branches. Now the study had become even more fascinating, Godric decided. He had discovered another piece to the puzzle that was Aurelia Marius.

His curiosity struck him too hard, and he suddenly had a great desire to fetch the pendant from the tree. He wondered if she would notice, if she would come back looking for it. The vampire could have easily jumped up into the tree and snatched the necklace without too much trouble. As he prepared himself for the leap, keeping his eye on his target, he heard the rustle of movement from behind him. Turning around sharply, Godric laid eyes on a distant figure standing amongst a thick patch of wildflowers. Aurelia was staring back at him.

"What are you doing?" she called, squinting into the darkness to make out his shadowed figure. Godric had half a mind to bolt; he could be gone in the blink of an eye, and leave her thinking that she had been seeing things; chances were she was tired enough to make it seem so. Something else made his legs move forward in her direction though, walking at a careful pace until he was within sight enough. Recognition registered on her face, he noticed immediately. He bowed his head a bit to her, keeping his eyes leveled.

"Aurelia," he greeted kindly.

"Godric," she mimicked. The name sounded so foreign to her tongue, as she had refused to say it aloud before. His presence yet again brought a bubbling of nerves to her, and the memory of the note flashed in her skull.

"What are you doing?" she repeated, a skeptical look already poised.

Godric noticed that she had not bothered to hide the fact that she had been crying, as the tracks of former tears still marked her lovely face.

"I was admiring your decorating abilities," he teased, glancing back at the tree he had stood in front of only a moment before.

Aurelia's gaze followed his, landing on the branch where she had thrown the now-unwanted necklace. She had worn it in Caius' honor, but now it meant nothing worthy of such esteem. She directed her gaze back to the young traveler, eyeing him for a moment.

"What of your limp?" she spoke up, raising a brow and crossing her arms over her chest.

A sinking feeling took hold of Godric's stomach; he had forgotten about the lie he had told the previous night. It seemed not much was able to slip past this young woman.

"Ah, the treatment you gave me seemed to work just fine," he offered a nice smile.

Aurelia smirked just slightly, "it must have been some miracle I performed, wasn't it?"

The smile left Godric's face, but he did not dare to direct his gaze elsewhere. Aurelia was challenging him, as Godric saw a challenge clearly when one was presented to him. Averting his gaze would allow her to win, to prove that he had been lying the previous night. He had, but if keeping the truth counted as lying, then he was deceiving Aurelia on many more accounts than one.

The girl's stare did not falter either, and now she even took the chance to present him with a satisfied smile. She was rather pleased that she had ousted not one, but two men tonight.

"What are you doing out here so late?" Godric asked after a prolonged silence.

Aurelia shrugged, "what are _you_ doing out here at all?" she countered.

"This is my home, and you are in no position to ask that of me," she added, liking this game of telling others their place.

Another smile marked Godric's lips, a slow smile that started in the center and began to fan out to the corners of his mouth, creating handsome creases in his face. Aurelia tried not to look at it. Instead she took a step back from him, breaking her gaze long enough to look at the dark sea for a moment. The water was pitch black like oil, and the waves made a comforting yet ominous rushing noise as they came and went. When she turned back to look at the traveler, she was startled to find that he was even closer to her than he had been before.

"I've always liked the sea," he informed her, causing her to jump a little at the sheer closeness of his voice, his body. Admittedly, Aurelia was not used to being this close to somebody; especially somebody she did not know.

Godric knew Aurelia felt uneasy, he could hear it in her uneven heartbeat now. Yet it amused him; she thought that she could get away with smiting him like that for no reason, silly girl.

"I lived by the sea," he told her, "although your home is much nicer than mine ever was." He turned back to the castle, smiling fondly for her benefit.

Aurelia had the urge to hit him; her hands practically ached with the need to strangle him. Now another thought, a thought that had been plaguing her all day came back to mind.

"Why did you leave me that note?" she asked, although her tone was much more accusatory than curious.

Godric's lips curled into a smirk once more, "to show you my appreciation, why else?"

"I have had the worst day because of it," she blurted, immediately regretting divulging that much information. She had easily given him the upper hand now.

"Oh, I am very sorry," he apologized, looking genuinely concerned for a moment, "I was not aware that such a kind gesture would set you off like that."

Now Aurelia watched the smirk grow, and she wanted to smack it clean off of his face.

Godric could practically laugh with glee he was so pleased with Aurelia's grim reaction.

The girl's eyes flashed with heat; an anger directed at the strange boy who wanted to laugh at her misfortune. Who was he to ridicule her like this?

"I'm serious," she began to stammer, "my life has been absolute hell ever since you walked out of those woods." Aurelia stared him down from the place beside him.

Godric could not help but chuckle at her dramatics, "your life since last night?" he raised his eyebrows.

Aurelia knew it sounded ridiculous, it was ridiculous. Godric had not ruined her life, although his presence had certainly not made it any easier. She was too stubborn to let it go.

"I'm not joking," she said gravely, "you have caused me more than your fair share of trouble."

"Oh, I doubt that, Miss Marius," he whispered, turning his face towards her. The remnants of a smile at her expense remained on his lips, and his stormy eyes caught hers for a moment. Aurelia cast her gaze downwards, avoiding his provocation.

Godric allowed his stare to linger on her for a bit longer, seeing her resolve begin to break. There must have been many things Aurelia did not share. Although she was not shy about flaunting her poor manners, her wit, or her distaste for him, she would not give him any glimpse into her personal self. He knew nothing about her besides her highborn status, her lack of respect for the womanly arts she would have been taught, her poor judgement of character, and her impressive aim. None of it fit or made sense to the ancient vampire, although the last bit gave him a good laugh. If he truly wanted to, Godric could have dragged the information from her lips easier than any other possible method. He could have glamoured her into telling him everything he wanted to know, and she would have absolutely no choice in the matter. Something halted him from doing so, from even thinking about doing so. He would be no expert in human behavior if he glamoured all of his subjects into telling him what he wanted to hear. Besides, an uncanny suspicion in Godric's gut told him that she would be no more depressing, or no more damaged than the rest of the humans he had come across. They all seemed to have their darkness, even if they spent their entire lives in the light.

Aurelia was looking at the water again, her face turned away from him in profile. She had been what he had smelled before, and he had not given himself the chance to pay close enough attention. A human's smell was always different; unless they were feeling a strong emotion, in which case they began to smell the same. Fear smelled metallic and rich, and seemed to only make the blood more pure. Anger was a rare thing to taste, although those who had said that it was amongst the more pleasurable things in life. In a state of seduction, most humans smelled headier, and it was an easier thing for a vampire to induce.

At first, Godric had paid no careful attention to the different scents and effects he could inflict on his victims; he had simply been starved, and in need to violate. As he matured, he experimented with these astounding differences in the taste of the blood. Humans were things to play with, specimens of worthless value who happened to bear the gift of life; a gift that all vampires needed to survive. Humans were the objects of desire and destruction, and they were only good for a few things until they weren't. Godric had strictly subscribed to this view for many centuries until one day, he didn't. It was difficult to say when that day occurred, or why, or how. Perhaps he grew out of it, although he found that it was impossible for many vampires to reach a higher level of being when it came to their value in the human race. For a long time, the ancient youth had hardly believed that he had ever once been a human, that his human mother had birthed him and he had entered this world the same way as those he had killed. At one time he had been a child of the light, a time too long ago for him to properly remember, a time that had been squelched out by his second birth; his birth into darkness. That was when Godric had really been born, brought into this world to dwell in eternal night and fulfill his role as a bringer of death. He had struggled with the matter of worth affixed to a human life, which his maker had told him was only to benefit the undead. Humans were put on this Earth as prizes for them, as the gods loved his children of the night more than any other creatures they had ever created. Why not? The gods had made vampires the most superior beings to ever walk solid ground; they were the most dangerous predators to ever exist, rivaling even the most intellectual of beings. The strongest, most powerful human being on Earth would never stand a chance when faced with even the youngest of vampires.

It had always made perfect sense to Godric. The vampires were the favored race, the inheritors of the Earth, the immortal divine. Every deity had bestowed their true children with the very gifts that made a man a god, and given their false children a sense of hope by allowing them to enter a made-up heaven when they met their end. That was why humans prayed so often, and worshiped these gods; they clung to the hope that they would one day be forgiven of the sins that plagued the inferior beings and be welcomed as one of God's true children. Whenever Godric had killed a human, he believed he was doing them a favor by bringing them closer to the God they so desperately needed.

He had long since abandoned that dangerous way of thinking. Even if he still felt the pressing remains of a theory once so strong and true. Godric had come of the belief that humans had more of a purpose than to serve their superior counterparts, which was how his interest in their behavior had developed so rapidly. In order to determine an individual's purpose and destiny, it was important to see them for who they were; not for who you wanted them to be.

Aurelia would be difficult to decipher, he decided. She may have been put on this Earth for a particular purpose, but Godric already believed that it ran deeper than the hand she had been dealt.

Without any warning at all, Godric spoke again, "why were you crying?" his voice was much softer than it had been before.

Aurelia turned to him now, lifting her blue eyes to meet his.

"I wasn't," she lied, bringing her fingertips to the bottom lid of her eye where the wetness had dried.

Godric resisted the urge to give her a smirk, and instead looked away.

Aurelia's hand moved to the empty space at her cleavage, where the pendant used to hang beneath her clothing as her eyes hesitantly moved to the tree where it would now remain. She did not appreciate the traveler being so nosy, but she could not find it in her to be upset. His question was not meant to cut her, she could tell by the unexpected gentleness of his tone. Perhaps he had gained some actual concern.

"It's not important," she changed her answer.

When Godric raised his eyes to her again, he noticed the hand pressed to her chest. It would not give him any trouble to make the connection. His curiosity regarding the pendant in the tree rose once again. It would not be appropriate to pry, and yet the vampire did not consider himself a terribly appropriate person in many regards.

"the necklace," he simply stated.

Aurelia's bright eyes gleamed, surprised that he had discovered her too quickly.

"Did you put that up there yourself, Miss Marius?" Godric cocked an eyebrow, a crooked smile on his mouth to match.

Aurelia smiled proudly to herself, "yes," she nodded.

Godric returned his glance to the tree, just able to make out the shine of the jewel from here.

"It is a ruby, is it not?" he turned back to Aurelia, arms tucked neatly behind him.

The girl simply nodded in response.

The boy eyed her for a moment, "it suits you," he decided.

Whether that was a compliment to Aurelia or not, her expression did not reveal it. Instead she removed her hand from its place and let it dangle limply at her side. She no longer looked interested in an argument; she looked exhausted, perhaps more so than from a mere lack of sleep.

In an uncharacteristic attempt to be amicable, Aurelia heard herself tell the young man something she would have rather kept to herself.

"The necklace was a gift," she began, "from someone I loved very much, or at least thought that I did up until a few hours ago."

Godric remained silent, politely listening to the truth he knew was a rare treat to hear.

"I cannot burden myself with all the trouble he has to bear me, and so the necklace had to go," the girl shrugged as if it really were that simple.

Perhaps it was. As much as it hurt, as much as Caius had betrayed Aurelia's trust, she did not have to dwell on it. In fact, she would not be given the chance to, not with everything that was soon to come. The strange feeling from the lack of weight around her neck where the missing pendant used to claim would soon vanish, just as the weight of her sorrow would, and as the weight of Caius' abuses would as well. She was free of him as far as she knew. In the next year or two he would be anointed as a true knight, and he would leave the city to do battle elsewhere in the name of the kingdom; her kingdom. Caius would work for her future father-in-law, and then her future son once he took the throne. As soon as Aurelia became the daughter of the king, and the mother of his successor, Caius would have nothing to hold against her. In this alone, Aurelia found comfort.

Godric watched the small smile form on Aurelia's lips, thinking that she must be fine after all.

"You think very clearly, I believe," he told her.

Aurelia's lips parted, pausing for a moment before she shook her head carefully.

"I simply try to remember to keep the ground beneath my feet," she quipped before turning on her heel and walking away.

Godric looked at the space she had occupied only a second ago before turning his head on his shoulders to watch her go. He had not gained a significant amount of new information about the girl, and yet he felt like he was able to put a whole piece into the puzzle that he was now committed to solving. This subject would not confound him; she would not slip through his fingers.

As he turned to leave as well, heading back in the direction from which he came, he heard her voice once more.

"You may call on me," her invitation rose above the sound of the waves, "if you'd like."

Godric nodded, giving her a polite smile, which Aurelia returned much to his surprise.

He was certain now that this would be a challenge well worth taking on.

* * *

Eric waltzed dizzily back towards the cave, if only he could remember where the damned thing was.

Whistling an old sailor's tune, the tall vampire reminisced about the rather eventful night he had just had. The women had all been beautiful, and all completely plastered. There must have been something about the common *Valeiriern women around here. Or perhaps it was their wine, which smelled as sickly sweet as it tasted on their blood.

After having entertained them to their satisfaction around their small circle, one of the women, whose name slipped Eric's mind, had been so bold as to invite them to continue their good time elsewhere. Having been experienced with the ways of women, Eric knew exactly what she had meant by that invitation, and not wasting another moment of their precious night, agreed.

He had come to find that it was not just Valeiriern wine and women that were impressive, but their habits in pleasure as well. The girls had wasted no time in proving that.

They had taken him back to a modest home, a stone dwelling with a warm fire and modest decor. Eric had come to realize that it was a whore house, one of many in the city. He had not minded in the least that these women whom he had run into by chance happened to sell their bodies for a living; in fact, he had told them that it was a rather righteous thing. They had gotten a good laugh at that.

As fairness goes, they had not minded that he often posed as a wealthy traveler in order to get into a woman's bed. Or that he liked to drink blood. By the end of their night together, he had tasted every last one of them. Now their intoxicated blood ran through his own veins, giving him quite the strange buzz.

Eric believed that he had been walking in the proper direction, but his spirits were too high to really care. A smirk crossed his face when he thought of how Godric would react upon seeing Eric in this state. With blood smeared carelessly on his face, his hair disheveled, and a silly grin on his lips, he looked absolutely crazed. It was pure luck that nobody had seen him as he left the whore house.

He had been disappointed that his maker had chosen to avoid his little party; the primary reason for their being here to do just that. Instead he had sauntered off alone again, not telling Eric where he was headed. He hated Godric's secrets, mostly because he felt as though he were being kept from a good time. On top of that, the little bugger would refuse to tell him where he had been when he returned from that secret place. It annoyed Eric wholly, and Godric knew that. Still, he knew there was not one important thing his maker would keep from him; Eric simply wanted to know everything, whether it was his business or not.

After a time, the vampire began to feel as though he had been walking for much too long. He stopped to look around, ceasing his whistling as soon as he picked up a rather unpleasant scent. His face crumpled in disgust as he looked around the perimeter of the woods. Without seeing anything that could cause such a horrible stench, Eric began moving forward again only to notice that the scent was getting worse. It was most certainly the smell of death, but it was much worse than any human death he had ever smelled. There was blood involved, but a vile, contaminated blood that assaulted Eric's senses with such a force that the vampire could barely stand it. A loathing curiosity caused Eric to probe, and he followed the nasty scent until it led him to a small break in the trees. Blood coated the ground he now stepped on, and he crouched down on his haunches, suddenly very sober. Running the tips of his first two fingers through the slick wetness, he examined the consistency, the color. It was most certainly this blood that reeked of something awful. Eric stood, wiping his hands on his pants idly. What his eyes discovered now was a sight that would have made him sick had he not been so used to the raw sight of death. Dozens of naked human corpses, mangled and lying in a mixed pool of their own blood. Eric took a few paces back, scanning the scene with his mouth agape. His mind flashed white hot panic, and then he ran. The wind rushed past as he escaped the horrid stench, clearing all but the image from his being. He needed to reach the cave, he needed to find Godric immediately.

* * *

*If you missed the footnote I had posted at the end of chapter 1, Valeirie [Vah-leer-ree] or Valeiriern in the possessive is Aurelia's kingdom of origin and where the plot is currently taking place. It is fictional, situated on the Northeastern-most coast of Italy.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: this is another mature chapter. It contains a brief description of a violent scene, as well as some abuse. Please be aware of that trigger. Thank-you all for your continued support, as always. Please don't hesitate to review!**

**EDIT: I just wanted to add a little blurb, that yes, Aurelia has thus far been a huge part of the story but that will not always be so. If you couldn't tell by now, a lot is about to go down and more canons are going to be introduced. I needed to take the time to introduce the character and fit her properly into the story so everything in the future makes sense. I never write OCs (like, never. Never, ever) but I believe she is being fairly well-received so far(?) If you couldn't tell already, I write a fairly decent amount and I like to show things as much as possible. Coming up in the story, character plots are going to start branching off and connecting with others. You'll understand...**

* * *

Godric cringed against the sight and smell that now attacked his senses. It was not human. He had spoken that knowledge in confidence upon seeing the scene for himself. Eric had been confused.

His progeny had returned to their cave-home completely flustered and upset. Godric did not even bother to comment on his bloody, disheveled appearance, for he knew that there was something worse going on. It had taken Eric some time to explain to his maker what he had seen, and the ancient vampire did not believe it at first. Just by the way Eric had described the smell of the blood, the decimation of the bodies; Godric knew there was trouble.

Needing to see for himself immediately, he asked Eric to lead him back to the scene even if it was close to dawn. Eric trembled the entire way; something about what he had seen had truly set him off, and Godric began to feel guilty for making him return to it.

Godric himself had barely returned to the cave earlier when he heard his progeny enter. He had been expecting a joyful, sated Eric, not the disturbed mess that stumbled through the mouth and begged him to explain what he had seen.

"_Humans aren't suppose to smell that way_," he had moaned, "_death shouldn't be like that_." What Eric did not understand was exactly what frightened him. Normally the man was not so adverse to a gruesome death, as he had caused one many times before in the past. What had thrown him off this time was caused by the gaps in his knowledge that would tell him why and how this particular scene was so unpleasant. Eric did not appreciate the warped reality that existed between the normal picture of a human's bloody death, and this horrible, nauseating image that they now stood before.

It _was_ rather insulting to a vampire's senses. Mangled corpses lay slain in a pool of their own blood, they were so mixed up together that it was nearly impossible to tell where one body began and another ended. Godric confidently approached the nearest, an adult male whose face had been badly bruised and torn apart. He examined the corpse, masking his face in a stony gaze of indifference in order block out the vileness of it all. The spilt blood was dark even after introduction to the oxygen in the air, he noticed. Godric gingerly brushed aside the man's hair, revealing a small mark right beneath his ear. The vampire stood up and took a step back, eyeing the entire scene once more. He had been right; they were not human.

"There is reason for your distaste," he told Eric, "these are not the bodies of humans."

Eric stared at the mess, a look of disgust on his face, "then _what_ are they?" he asked his maker. Their unappealing odor only seemed to get worse with time. Perhaps they were already beginning to decay. Godric was certain he knew, and yet the answer confused him even more than the question. As he turned to look at Eric, his solution rang clear, "werewolves," he stated grimly.

What the pack had been doing in the area was unknown and would most likely remain that way. Godric was fairly certain of what had slain them, though. Only a creature with enough strength to take down a pack of two dozen fully-grown adult werewolves: a very powerful vampire. Eric had guessed as much too. When he asked Godric if he had seen any others in the area, he had come up with another solution, "there could have been two packs, they could have fought." Werewolves were very territorial creatures after all, it was possible that another pack could have come around and they had fought over the area; the victims of the battle being from both sides. Godric would have liked to believe this, but there was something about the evidence that spoke of vampires.

Eric's turmoil had quickly been replaced with all manners of spite. The Viking had held onto a strong vengefulness against werewolves ever since his passing, when he was certain that a pack of them had killed his human family.

Godric did not once argue with Eric's need to be vindictive; the Viking had cared greatly for his family, and he was still in the mindset to avenge them.

"It's for the better," he spat, "I would have killed them myself if I had the chance."

Godric kept quiet, not bothering to point out to his childe that vampire-werewolf interactions were very uncommon. The species were notorious enemies and would flee at the first sign of the other. Not to mention, it was unlikely that the particular Weres involved in the death of Eric's family were even still alive. Most werewolf lifespans did not greatly exceed those of humans, and Eric's family had been long gone for quite some time now.

The pair retreated back to their cave-home, needing to go to ground for the fast-approaching day. Surely wild animals would clean the remains, and the bodies were too far away from the city limits to be spotted easily by humans.

Eric turned towards his maker several times on the way back, acting as though he wanted to say something but then changing his mind immediately. Godric could feel Eric's sense of urgency, but it was getting too late to delve deeper into this situation. It would have to wait until the night came again.

* * *

Fabrics. The softest of silks, the plushest of velvets, and the most finely spun cottons. Spread out on the table along with them were strings of creamy pearls, rare gems set in delicate rings, and gold encrusted headpieces. Aurelia fingered the materials as she walked the length of the table; a captain inspecting his army. Everything was white, everything was pure and untouched. It was all lace insets, threads of gold, objects imported from lands far away. Things to prove her wealth, her worth.

Her mother stood off at the far end of the table in the greatroom, watching her youngest as she viewed what would make her the most perfect bride, a bride fit for a prince.

The gown Aurelia would don on the day of her wedding was in its final stages, and her mother's seamstress had gathered them here to decide on the finishing touches. Aurelia had been utterly surprised at how quickly the paunchy woman and her team of assistants had managed to design and sew her gown. Her suspicions led her to believe that it had been in the works since before the official announcement of the betrothal had been made. She had not yet seen the gown, nor was she at all excited to. Her sister Petrona, who had yet to speak a single word to Aurelia, was gushing over how lovely everything was going to be to their mother. Aurelia scoffed to herself from the other side of the table, silently wishing she could trade places with her sister. The twenty year-old wanted this so desperately, where Aurelia could not even stand the mere thought of it; it seemed horribly unfair that things should work out this way. Her mother's clear and lovely voice broke through the tangled web of Aurelia's thoughts.

"What do you think, Aurelia?" she asked, taking a few steps closer with a careful smile on her face. Her mother's smiles were always careful, poised, and womanly. Aurelia did not think she had ever heard Lady Marius laugh except for the soft twittering sound, which she even felt compelled to cover politely with a hand. Aurelia never did anything politely, which was something her mother absolutely detested. It was not as though the girl was a snob, for she greatly appreciated every blessing that came her way. She merely held no high-esteem for bowing, or giving artificial smiles, or blushing, or anything else a young lady was supposed to do. Growing up, her older sisters had teased her that she was no good at being a girl. That was not true, at least not to Aurelia's knowledge. She quite enjoyed being a woman; she only believed that there was more to it than servitude and subordination. Her mother and sisters only wished that she would do as she was expected for once.

Studying the lace pattern for a moment longer, Aurelia tapped her index finger against her chin. As if she could honestly take this seriously.

"I think Caecilia will do a wonderful job no matter what," Aurelia responded.

The seamstress Caecilia bowed her head, "thank-you, m'Lady." While her mother only sighed.

"I meant about your decorations, Aurelia," her tone was already beginning to get weary. If her mother felt tired now, there was still arrangements to be made for the high priest, and the guests, and the bridegifts, and the journey to the royal castle, and the ceremony. That was all for the wedding alone. Traditionally, Aurelia would have been left to these decisions with the help of servants and planners but her mother must have known that nothing would get done that way, which was why she had opted to include herself in the process.

"Well, why do I have to choose?" Aurelia creased her brow.

"Because it is the bride's privilege to choose her own ornaments," her mother explained as patiently as possible, "it brings her good luck in her new life as a wife."

Aurelia resisted the strong urge to make a face. Instead she glanced up, catching Petrona's eye, who quickly looked away. She would have liked for her sister to help give her some luck, and she knew she would have if they had been on better terms at the moment.

"I think you need your own sort of crown," her mother stepped forward, the tail of her extravagant forest green gown trailing behind her. She picked up a delicate gold headpiece, admiring the tiny gems that hung down from it like raindrops before she handed it to her daughter. Aurelia turned the thing over in her hands, surprised at how light it felt. Playing the part, she fit it gently down on her head, feeling the chill of the metal against her forehead. Her mother's face lit up, and she offered her daughter more than a simple smile. Caecilia clapped her hands together in delight, and even Petrona's mouth tugged upwards a bit. Picking up the hand mirror resting on the table, Aurelia peered at her reflection. The girl inside looked stunning with the simple addition of some gold and jewels, but Aurelia did not recognize her. The icy blue stones blended themselves into her thick hair, acting like molten crystal snowflakes that had landed there just so. She looked like royalty, she looked like a prince's bride, but she did not look happy. When she set the mirror back down, the trio of women were eyeing her hopefully.

Aurelia nodded, "it's perfect," she agreed.

Her mother nodded affectionately, and her sister and the seamstress whooped with joyous relief. She had made her decision, she realized. It only brought her one step closer to the final ending. Petrona and Caecilia were chatting again, animatedly discussing how wonderful their bride was going to look. Lady Marius gave Aurelia a careful smile, which Aurelia tried hard to copy.

* * *

The commands repeated themselves in her head over and over again. _Sit up straight, do not look anyone directly in the eye, speak quietly and politely, chew slowly, not too much wine, and please Aurelia, for the love of the gods, do not under any circumstance talk back_. They were her mother's words in her mother's voice that rattled around in her head on an endless loop bound her humiliate her.

It was clear and certain that her mother did not think her capable of being civilized while in the presence of the prince and his parents. The nearly forty year-old woman was too worried about the course of the evening. Aurelia did not see what there was to fret over. The king had already agreed to the marriage, and with less than a month remaining until the date, it was not as though he would go back on his word simply because the girl could not be demure enough. Besides, Aurelia knew how to put on a good show when she had to; in this respect she was already well on her way to being an excellent wife.

She had been dressed in a properly fitting gown in a night blue shade. Her thick mane of golden brown hair had been pinned back away from her face to showcase her features and the new pendant that hung low around her neck. To Aurelia's eyes, she did not look real, she did not look like herself. She felt like a ragdoll, being made-up to someone else's desires. She had held perfectly still through the whole process, did not say a word as the dresser tied the laces too tightly on the side of her gown, and only nodded appreciatively afterwards. When she was ready, a servant escorted her to the greatroom, the same place she had spent her afternoon looking at old swaths of fabric and expensive jewelry. It had now been transformed into a large, ornate dining room. The same large table commanded the center of the room, with six matching seats placed evenly around it. Plates and goblets for wine had already been set out, and there were four servants manning every corner of the room should anyone need something. As Aurelia stepped further into the room, she noticed her mother and father standing together near the large entranceway, awaiting the announcement of the arrival of their royal guests.

Tonight the two families were to eat together in celebration and in bond. It was Valeiriern tradition for the royals to welcome a new member into their family by visiting their home in order to create a solid foundation on which the two families would stand forever. While her father and the king had already known one another for quite some time, Aurelia knew the focus of this visit was going to be more directed towards the royal Castor family keeping an eye on Aurelia's habits. She had to make sure to be especially mindful these next few days.

As she approached her parents, they both had approving looks on their faces. She stopped in front of her father, bowing her head politely in customary respect, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulder before guiding her daughter to stand next to her to wait. Aurelia had not realized that she had developed an intense fluttering pain in her stomach; her nerves were getting the best of her. It was not as if she was nervous about pleasing the royal family, but more so that she would have to spend time being scrutinized and studied; the thought angered her, but she would be wise not to show it.

In a quick moment, a servant boy burst through the door off to the side, and the three Mariuses turned to watch as he briskly approached them. He bowed to Lord Marius before offering curt nods to the women.

"My Lord," he addressed Titinus, practically out of breath, "I have word that the king and his party shall be arriving shortly."

Lord Marius nodded, "very good," he granted the young man permission to leave.

They resumed their positions of anticipation and Lady Marius took a big breath next to her daughter. Aurelia noticed the excited little smile on her lips; lips that Aurelia herself had inherited, and yet not the polite words and kind expressions that always graced them. She vaguely began to wonder what she herself looked like at that moment. With her father so honorable and patient looking, and her mother so excited, she surely must have looked the lesser of the trio. She hoped the dull Castors would not notice her blank face.

In another instant, the large, steel-clad doors burst open and the king's caller rushed through. He took a few large paces into the room until he was in the middle before bowing low to the Mariuses. When he stood, he announced himself in a rather loud manner.

"Lord and Lady Marius, I wish to inform you of the arrival of your king and queen, and their son, the prince." He bowed again and showed himself out.

Aurelia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the show they were making of it.

Afterwards, the king stepped through, flagged by his wife and their son. Following them was a small army of council members, servants, and guards. They all stayed behind as the large doors closed once more while the three royals stepped forward to be graciously received as the guests of honor. As she had been instructed, Aurelia curtsied as low as she could; which she noticed was not nearly as low or as graceful as her mother. Lord Marius also bowed low, getting on one knee to drop his head in honor of his king. When they rose, the Castors were smirking at their hosts. The king stepped forward, walking slowly towards Aurelia. The young woman noticed the decorated crown atop his large, gourd-like head, the small braids threaded in his pitch-black hair, and the long sword on his belt. When he was directly in front of her, Aurelia nearly forgot to avoid making eye-contact. There was something so hideously intriguing about his face.

"Aurelia," he addressed her; but now she kept her eyes respectfully downcast.

"It seems as if you get more beautiful with each passing day," he said in a gravelly voice.

Aurelia could feel his eyes on her, taking her appearance in without a care to the time he was wasting. With one last satisfied glance, he then turned to her mother. He greeted her and planted a kiss on her hand, to which the woman responded by bowing several times. Lastly, the king came upon her father.

"Lord Marius, we meet again," the king drawled.

"Yes, your majesty," he nodded.

The two men exchanged glances before the king pulled the other man into a big hug. The sight shocked Aurelia, and she could not look away. This was not customary, but the girl supposed it was in accordance to their pleasure at soon becoming family. As the men chatted, the queen now took her turn to step forward and greet them. She smiled rather coldly at Aurelia, but the girl fulfilled her duty by bowing to her queen. Queen Castor was a bit more kind to Lady Marius, whom she gave a quick peck on each cheek and complimented her on her home; as if the woman had anything to do with a castle that had been standing for centuries, housing every Marius that ever lived. Lord Marius gave his queen a polite bow and kissed her ring once the king had stepped aside. The air seemed to instantly become less formal, but Aurelia knew the worse was still yet to come.

"Ah, Evander," her father called joyously to the young man.

Prince Evander stepped forward, giving the older man a tight-lipped smile and strangely holding his sheathed sword protectively as he stepped forward. Lord Marius clapped the young man on the back, just as he would his very own sons. Prince Evander folded his hands in front of him properly, not interested in his father or the Lord's antics.

"Thank-you for allowing us into your home. I hope that this visit will garner much value for both of our families," he told Lord Marius, who burst out laughing before turning to the king.

"Your Grace, I believe you have fathered quite the gentleman here," he teased. Evander scoffed to himself, leaving Lord Marius' side as he moved on to the woman next to him.

"Lady Marius," he greeted, nodding.

"So nice to have you, Prince Evander," Lady Marius bowed.

Next was the part Aurelia had been dreading the most, as she was left all alone with her fiance as the adults had begun moving to the table.

"Good evening, my prince," she greeted quietly, giving him a small curtsey.

Prince Evander studied her for a moment, fingering the pommel of his sword again.

"You may look upon me when you're speaking to me," he told her, his tone demanding.

Aurelia raised her eyes, meeting his with instant resentment.

"That's better," Evander smirked proudly at her.

Now Aurelia got the rare and fleeting chance to study the man up close. She had gotten this chance once before at the engagement announcement, but she had not been clear headed enough to notice certain things. The prince's wealth was very evident in the clothing he wore, red velvet with gold thread embroidered across the chest in the pattern of the Castor family crest. Thick leather and steel covering his waist to hold in the sword and whatever else he should feel the unnecessary need to carry on him at all times. He also wore a crown, just as his father and mother, although his was not quite as ornate. For some reason she had remembered his face to be a bit more handsome, but now the dim light of the candles in the greatroom cast odd shadows across his features. His eyes seemed devoid of any color, of any life, and his hair was a proud gold color, not quite as pale as her father's, but more gleaming. Everything about the prince seemed to be made out of gold, but to Aurelia it looked cheap. He was not necessarily anything to look twice at, but he was most certainly not as unfortunate looking as his father.

Suddenly the rough voice of the king rang out, "Evander, Aurelia, please join us," he waved them over to the table.

Prince Evander put a strong hand on her shoulder, pushing his future bride forward. His grip on her was too tight, as if she were a wild animal that could easily escape. His fingernails dug into the skin exposed just next to her collar as he guided her to the seat next to her mother. He left her there and went around to the other side of the table to sit at the right hand of his father, who sat at the head.

Servers brought out food; plenty of curred and spiced meats with fresh vegetables and handmade pastas. Aurelia had no appetite now, which seemed to suit her mother just fine in the false image she was trying to portray of her daughter. Nobody asked why she hardly touched the food on her plate. The group ate in silence for a bit before the king filled his wine glass once more to make a toast. As soon as he held his glass up, the others did as well.

"To the joining of our children, and their future together," he began before laying eyes on Aurelia, "and to the stunning young lady who will make the perfect addition to the Castor household very soon."

Aurelia felt her face flush; the prince gave her a smirk, and the queen pursed her lips in distaste.

"Cheers," her father agreed, and they all sipped at their wine.

The meal had dragged on forever to Aurelia. The king and her father passed little jokes that nobody else understood, while her mother tried chatting up the queen, who remained silent for most of the evening. Aurelia also kept quiet, picking at her food with no interest while trying to avoid the disgusting looks the prince was shooting her from across the table as he ate a chicken leg.

From the edge of the forest, a wolf howled, and everyone at the table silenced themselves. When it rang out again, her father turned in his seat to stare at the securely locked door.

"What the devil?" he cursed to himself.

The queen squeaked, "are there usually wolves around these parts?"

"No," Lord Marius protested, "it must be a wild dog. Nothing to fear, my queen."

Aurelia did not think that that was any howl of a mere dog. It was lonesome and loud, absolutely breathtaking and chilling to the bone. The sound of it sent shivers down her spine. The queen did not look convinced either, and Aurelia began to think that she must be a very jumpy woman.

"There is nothing to worry about," Lady Marius assured, placing her hand kindly over her queen's, who looked at the gesture in masked disgust.

"The castle is very safe, and there has never been any wolf sightings around here. My Lord is right, it must have been a wild dog."

Still, the queen did not look any calmer.

Suddenly the prince spoke up, asking to be excused, and Aurelia felt relieved that the night was coming to an end.

Evander stood from his seat, "Aurelia," he snapped.

The girl quickly looked up at him, the edge of irritation beginning to return.

"I'd like for you to join me," he told her before turning to her mother, "if that is appropriate." Lady Marius nodded, giving her permission. Aurelia scrunched her face for a brief moment, wondering where her own consent counted. She did not want to join the prince; she wanted to retire to her chambers for some privacy finally.

"Come, Aurelia," the prince ordered, picking up a flask of wine from the table and turning on his heel to walk away. Aurelia bowed her head to the adults, bidding them a good night before following after Evander.

* * *

The older man did not wait for her to catch up to him. Instead he walked ahead at a brisk pace, taking swigs straight from the crystal wine flask and wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

When he finally stopped outside of a door, Aurelia was able to stop her annoying pursuit. Now Evander turned to look at her, and she tried giving him a polite little smile like she had seen her mother give her father before. The prince took a long swig from the flask once more before replacing the stopper and eyeing her for the countless time that night.

Once he was pleased with what he saw, he reached for the door handle and pushed the wooden fixture open.

"Well, are you not coming in?" he cocked a smug brow at her before stepping inside the room, not waiting for her answer; she did not have one for this situation as it was.

Upon entering, Aurelia realized that this was the room that had been lent to the prince for his time staying here. It was in the southern wing of the castle; the rooms with the loveliest views and the warmest beds.

Prince Evander sauntered over to a plush armchair, setting the half-empty flask down on the table beside him as he settled his tall frame down onto the seat. Aurelia followed slowly, pretending to be very interested in the decor of the room. It was very nice, but she was sure the servants had made it up so in order to suit the prince. When she turned back to face the man, he was looking at her again; not at all to her surprise. He was very bold about it too, she noticed. In a way he looked at her not unlike how Caius used to, but because the simple presence of the prince ticked her off, the look became something vulgar and rude.

"You may have some," he spoke up, gesturing to the wine on the table, "please," he added. It was a command, not an offer.

Aurelia picked up the crystal canteen carefully before removing the stopper with a soft pop and pressing the lip to her mouth. The wine was warm and strong; Valeiriern wine was notoriously potent, and it had been one of the region's finest exports for many years. Aurelia had not yet developed a taste for it, but she could easily see herself becoming a quick friend of the drink if she had to have many more interactions with the prince like this. After the longest swig she could manage, she set the thing back down on the table, looking at the prince once more.

"Tell me, Aurelia," he began again after keeping a careful eye on her, "are you looking forward to being my wife?"

The question caught her off-guard; she had two answers, the truthful one, and the one she was supposed to say.

She nodded, "of course, my prince," she said the rehearsed lines.

Prince Evander smirked, but he did not look very pleased.

"Really?" he questioned her, "because you've hardly taken notice of me since our betrothal," he accused.

Aurelia felt the heat rise to her face. She did not have a rehearsed answer for this, nor was she sure if she was supposed to say anything at all.

"I am terribly sorry, my prince," she hung her head, "I did not mean to offend you." The words sounded horrible to her, and she hated sounding out every last syllable of them. The way Prince Evander looked at her afterwards was even worse; as if he knew that it pained her to say such things to him, to be so subordinate just to please him. He enjoyed it.

"It is okay," he drawled, "I am sure you will make up for it." With this, he rose from his seat and crossed over to her. Aurelia immediately cast her gaze downward as he neared, noticing how quickly she was already being conditioned. He was so close to her; she could feel his breath hot on her face. He smelled strongly of wine. He reached a hand out, touching a strand of her hair and twisting it between his long fingers. He moved those fingers to the chain around her neck, following the gold links down slowly to where the pendant rested between her breasts. The prince lifted the dark stone from her skin, warm from the heat of her body. Studying it for a moment, Evander decided that it was not worth his interests.

"You are too beautiful for something like this," he told her, "when you are my wife, I shall gift you with the most magnificent jewels in the kingdom."

"Thank-you, my prince," Aurelia murmured, still looking at a place on the ground.

"Even then, I still doubt they will hold a flicker of light to your great beauty," the man added, touching her hair again.

The feeling of his invasive fingers against her skin made Aurelia feel repulsed. There was no kindness in the way he handled her, the way he looked at her, or the way he spoke to her. She was simply an object to him, no more a matter of intrigue than his own horse.

"There are many things I'll do for you when you are my wife," he continued, the hand still stroking her hair, "and you will do many things for me." He gave her a pointed look.

Aurelia nodded, simply because there was nothing else she could do.

"It pleases me greatly to know that you are mine," the hand traveled back down the chain, "if I may be so bold."

It did not matter how bold the prince was; he was not asking the girl's permission. Aurelia held her breath, wanting desperately to close her eyes and will this to end. Her greatest wish was to be back in her own room, alone. She felt the prince's cold hand move down below the pendant, his fingers tracing the curve of her breast. Aurelia willed herself to stay still, but she could not help the reflexive way in which she flinched away from his touch.

"It's okay," the prince whispered, "I know you're nervous, but you belong to me. You will get used to this in time." He had mistaken her reaction for being childish and inexperienced. The thought that she may not want this would never have crossed his mind.

Without waiting for any response from her, the prince slipped his hand beneath the fabric of her gown. The unwelcomed hand cupped itself around her bare breast, and the mean mouth twisted into a pleased smirk. Aurelia clenched her teeth, for fear that she might sob if she did not. The fingers of the intruding hand found her nipple and pinched hard. Aurelia's body reacted faster than her mind, backing quickly away from the prince and clear out of his reach. Now disconnected, Aurelia wrapped her arms around her chest, shuddering. Prince Evander cocked his head to the side, looking concerned for the briefest of seconds.

"No matter," he told her, "we can try again later."

Aurelia shook her head involuntarily, already trying to erase the memory from her mind.

"We _will_ try again later, Aurelia," he informed her, stepping closer once more. Aurelia wanted to back away, but the foot of the large bed closed her in the small space.

"That is your duty to me. That is what will count you as a good wife, a prince's wife," his words bit at her. Aurelia eyed him contemptuously, already hating him.

Suddenly he had closed the last gap between them and grabbed the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were colorless orbs of hatred, swirling with power and greed; it was hard for Aurelia to look at them.

"I knew you'd be trouble," he spat while his free hand moved to his sword. In a quick instant it was unsheathed, and the point was in Aurelia's face.

"I knew I may have to resort to taming you," the sword's tip was against her cheekbone now, right below her eye. It stung like hell, but Aurelia knew he had not even broken the skin yet. The fear had to be prevalent in her eyes, but Evander's severe stare did not falter; he liked her fear, he _wanted_ her to fear him.

"You will honor me," his words dripped venom. The steel tip finally cut her skin, forming a bright red blossom of blood on her cheek. Aurelia gasped in pain, but she was unable to move away; Evander was stronger and his grip on her was relentless, holding her head in place.

"If you do anything to dishonor me, there may be a chance that you just happen to disappear...I will call the guards, send knights in search of you- your parents will too. Nobody will find you, and I will cry and mourn for weeks over my loss. Fail to respect me , and you will go away forever."

Tears fell from Aurelia's eyes because of the pain, because of the fear, because of the anger. It had risen up in her like a fever; she felt it swimming in her blood. Evander must have noticed a change, perhaps it was in her eyes, because he dropped his sword with a clatter. Just to push her, he pulled her hair hard but Aurelia grabbed the front of his tunic, pulling him sharply to her. Through ragged breaths she looked into his eyes, lifting her face to show him what he had done to her. Suddenly Evander did not look so mighty. Aurelia was certain nobody had ever reacted this way to his bullying, and it took him by surprise.

"Or maybe," Aurelia hissed, "you will go away forever, my prince." After one last dark look, Aurelia released her grip on him, and Evander did the same to her. She fell back against the foot of the bed behind her, wiping the blood away from her face. Evander looked completely mad; overcome with fear and shock that his modest little bride-to-be would retaliate, but also because there was nothing he could do about it. She glared at him from her position on the ground, and he stood dumbfounded with his precious sword laying on the ground.

Before he had the chance to do anything else, Aurelia stood and ran from the room. She ran down the corridor and kept going until she was far from the prince. A wall of glassless windows looking out into the courtyard stopped her. Finally Aurelia allowed her tears to fall freely, dropping on the sill beneath her. She pulled in heavy, uneven breaths, gulping the air as if she had been suffocating. She clutched at the stone and looked out at the dark landscape spread out before her. It would be so easy to leave and never come back, just run off into the night and start a new life. She could be like the traveler, she could wander from place to place and never have to worry about duty or honor.

There had never been a time greater than this when Aurelia wished she could have been born someone else. If she could have been blessed with a different life, she was certain she would be happy. Now she was just a lonely and lost little girl with nothing to grasp onto to pull her from the swelling tides of trouble. She was a Marius though, and Mariuses never shied away from something they feared; they didn't run away from their problems. Aurelia had not been afforded the frivolous nature to leave and never return again; she knew that she had to fulfill her duties, but she would have to find her own honor. Although this thought pained her more than the sharp edge of Evander's blade, Aurelia had the heart to jump into the fire coursing through her veins.

The moon was big and full, illuminating everything she could see. It was time; it was time for her to be a true Marius. She could find her way.

The girl stood up straight, taking a deep breath. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.


End file.
